The Adventures of Krios Black
by SiriuslyPotter19
Summary: A private investigator is dropped into the Wizarding World as Krios Black, the Heir of the House of Black. Armed with the knowledge of the future, he enters Hogwarts while the Dark Lord Voldemort prepares to declare war on the Wizarding World. Will he be able to protect his family and friends from their fates and the rising darkness? Read and find out! SI-OC
1. What the Hell?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter **

**July ****11th, 1969**

My life was rather a strange one, even for a eleven-year old pure-blood wizard. I was the Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, an extremely ancient and wealthy pure-blood Wizarding line. My father, Orion Black, was completely under my mother's thumb. And my mother, Walburga Black was completely insane and belonged in Azkaban for, among other things, using an Unforgivable Curse as a parenting tool. And I have memories of another life, from a world where my current life was my favorite book series.

I could remember my life as Cade Jacobson, a 27 year old private investigator who had been killed because he had heard too much about a cartel deal while following an unfaithful husband. Turns out he was dealing drugs, not cheating on his wife. While I missed my family and friends, I knew that I had to embrace this second chance. I had a few ideas on what exactly what I wanted to do with it, but I wasn't entirely sure on how to proceed.

I knew exactly what kind of crazy I had gotten into beforehand, of course. I intended to change this world for the better, mostly for me and my loved ones. And I intended to cause as many problems as I could for the rising Dark Lord Moldyshorts. That guy is a asshole and needs to be put down like the psycho he is. And I would start by using my position as Heir Black to gather knowledge and power to influence the current Head of the House of Black.

My grandfather, Arcturus Black, the Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, is actually pretty awesome though. He had put a stop to my mother's rule of the house when I had told him about the liberal use of the Cruciatus Curse four years ago. She has been imprisoned in the Black Townhouse at 12 Grimmuald Place in London with her crazy house elf Kreacher, and hadn't been seen by anyone since. Last I heard, the house was in bad shape.

My father, myself, and my little brothers Sirius and Regulus had moved out of the townhouse and into the majestic Black Manor in the countryside with Grandfather. We are the only ones who know my mother is alive, as we have claimed she had died of illness to protect the image of the House of Black. Had a funeral and everything. Although Sirius and Regulus's memories had to be modified, as they are too young to understand our reasoning. And Kreacher has been forbidden to tell anyone or help her escape. Walburga had her wand snapped as well.

My nine year-old brother Sirius seems to desire to rebel against everything our house has historically stood for. It is freaking hilarious to watch him drive father and grandfather nuts with his chaotic nature. He doesn't take anything seriously, despite his name being Sirius. (Merlin, he really needs to stop using that pun) Despite the fact that he drives me crazy at times, we are very close and would do anything for each other.

My eight year-old brother Regulus is a curious boy who already understands the importance of the House of Black in our society and is keen to learn. I just gotta make sure he doesn't join Moldyshirts. After tonight, that shouldn't be a problem though. Grandfather is constantly being asked "questions" (a.k.a suggestions) by my brother and I that make him think. Regulus thought of a couple of things that I hadn't on his own, surprisingly. I have heard him say that the future of the House of Black is in good hands with the three of us.

It was the result of one of those "questions" that I posed that caused Grandfather to make a move to ensure the education of Hogwarts would be better served in the future. I had asked him why we just don't learn about actual Wizarding History in History of Magic classes. Wouldn't it help our world if we knew all of the dangers that existed and knew how to prevent them?

Not to mention that it would prevent Muggle-Borns from trying to betray or change our world once they knew that they should fear the power and knowledge Ancient Wizarding families had access to in their libraries. The Black libraries had long been guarded by wards created by the ancestors of the Black family and improved over the centuries, as well as their many homes across the world. Dumbledore and Grindelwald working together to try to find and break into a Black home would not only fail, but they would both die an extremely painful death.

Naturally, Grandfather had thought it was a brilliant idea. Although that might of had more to do with the fact that I had told him that I had visions of the future. Telling him I was a reincarnated Muggle seemed like a bad idea, so I went with that. I had told him about the rise of a powerful Dark Lord that would wipe out the House of Black if he wasn't stopped, telling him that the House of Black would die out in the male line if he wasn't stopped. I would have won an Academy Award for the acting job while making that prophecy. He had not only believed my story, but had taken some subtle steps to help stop him.

Headmaster Armando Dippet had hired my Uncle Alphard as the new Professor of Wizarding Traditions before he retired, a new class that would be mandatory for all students for their first year at Hogwarts. He would also be teaching Ancient Runes, one of the electives available to third years at Hogwarts. It was rumored that the new Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who was also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, had argued against the hire. But with the backing of the Board of Governors, Dippet, and the Ministry, he failed to stop the hire, even with all his power.

Apparently, it was mainly because Dumbledore was concerned about the growing power of the House of Black and the idea of actual Wizarding history and traditions being taught by a Black. Grandfather had smiled smugly when he heard that for some reason. Neither of us trusted Dumbledore. My Uncle Alphard was a former Cursebreaker and magical archeologist that traveled all over the world. He was very knowledgeable about the Wizarding World in several different countries, as well as a Runes Master. It would be fascinating to learn from him in September.

My lessons with Grandfather about the responsibilities of the Head of the House of Black had just ended when our head house elf, Tippy shuffled into my Grandfather's study.

"Master Arcturus, your cousins Pollux and Cassiopeia has arrived for the Black family gathering, sir," he said in a squeaky, but cultured tone. Grandfather had long believed that his large number of family house elves being cultured and well-mannered reflected well on their family. If one was rich enough to have as many servants as they did, they should take care of them. They were the ones that answered the door after all.

"Thank you, Tippy," my grandfather said with a sigh. He and his two cousins had fallen out almost thirty years ago after Granfather had decided to remain neutral instead of aligning the House of Black with the Dark Lord at the time, Gellert Grindelwald. The marriage of Orion and Walburga had been their peace treaty, ironically. And now, they had come to the annual Black family dinner to discuss the growing rumors of a powerful Dark Lord that was amassing an army in the shadows.

Grandfather had no interest following a foreign wizard who had no interest in bettering Wizarding Britain and would cause their destruction by trying to conquer the world. He would lose, just as Wizarding Rome and Wizarding Greece had joining Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great and their Muggle Armies.

Grandfather's policy of staying neutral had enriched and empowered the House of Black in the years since the last war. The Blacks had formed powerful political alliances with not only the neutral and dark families in the Wizengamot, but the more traditional light families as well. He and his allies were the key to passing any law in the Wizengamot.

Many reforms that Dumbledore had tried to push through the last few years to stop the use of darker magics, including banning Aurors from using lethal force, had been stopped because of Arcturus and his allies. He had allowed a few of Dumbledore's laws to pass, mainly the ones that would protect and help Muggle-Borns in their society. A major one that allowed Muggle-Borns to be sponsored and protected by Ancient Wizarding families as vassals of their House had been his idea.

Grandfather thought it was foolish to alienate new magicals when you could make them indebted to you instead. While he preferred not to associate with Muggles and keep his line pure, the possibility of new ideas and magics under his control were too good to pass up. His logical arguments about the money and new ideas that could come from them had swayed several neutral pureblood families to his side. Dumbledore had agreed when he had gotten over his suprise and got a clause added for something that Grandfather wouldn't explain to me. Apparently, it was a good thing.

Therefore, he was not probably not looking forward to hearing his cousins talk about how he was a Mudblood lover now and how the new Dark Lord would put the Mudbloods in their place. His recent speech at the Wizengamot certainly wouldn't help him in this conversation. He had yet to discuss his most recent law with the family outside of me and my father.

Pollux's son, Cygnus, and his wife Druella were of the same mindset, as was their eldest daughter Bellatrix, whom Aunt Cassie had been giving private lessons over the last couple of summers in the secret family magics that are only learned by deserving daughters of the House of Black get when they turn sixteen, which she had in October. Andromeda, who was fourteen, was rather quiet on the subject, while twelve year old Narcissa parroted the beliefs of her parents.

Unfortunately, Father doesn't agree, but knows better than to argue with his father. Not being married to Mother has done wonders for his personality. Uncle Alphard agrees with Grandfather though, as does Aunt Dorea and her husband, Uncle Charlus Potter. They would be coming with their son, Eric, who would be starting Hogwarts with me and was arguably my favorite cousin. Alphard wouldn't be coming though, as he was out of the country.

Aunt Lucretia wouldn't be coming either, as her husband Ignatius Prewett apparently made the mistake of setting off a couple of dungbombs under Aunt Cassie's chair fifteen years ago. I thought it was funny when I heard the story, but Aunt Cassie cursed him. I wonder if that is why they haven't had any children. Aunt Cassie has long suffered from the Black Madness. She was Grindelwald's Bellatrix during the end of the last war. She had been able to bribe her way out of being sent to Azkaban though. Aunt Lucretia hasn't spoken to anyone in our family since, sadly.

"Don't forget that you are my Heir. When I am gone, you will be the one having to deal with all this," Arcturus reminded me. He had caught me grinning at his sigh, which was now a scowl.

"I sincerely hope that won't be for quite some time," I replied, causing my grandfather to chuckle. We then descended downstairs to the massive dining room of Black Manor.

It was fortunately only after we had almost finished the feast that the house elves had prepared that dinner got interesting. "You have made the Dark Lord rather angry, Arcturus. Rumor has it that he wants your head almost as much as Dumbledore's for the about face the House of Black has shown over the last few years since my daughter's death and my grandson being named heir," he said calmly, almost as if he was commenting on the weather.

"Well, it's a good thing that wartime wards haven't been taken down since the last war. And if the legends are true, this castle survived an assault by the armies of Dark Witch Morgana herself when the Head of House refused to share Black family magic with her. I dare say that they will hold up against this Voldemort, especially with my improvements," my grandfather said with a smirk.

"You dare say his name??!! He's the Heir of Slytherin and a powerful wizard that will put the Mudbloods in the place and eliminate the Muggles!!" Cygnus said, growing angry.

"The House of Black is far more powerful than the House of Slytherin these days, nephew. The American line has died out, and the other known survivor is locked up in Azkaban. The Gaunts have long squandered any fortune that Slytherin has left. The son of Merope Gaunt and whoever she managed to seduce may be powerful, but I have yet to see anything resembling the power his ancestors had," Arcturus said.

"And the Statute of Secrecy exists for a reason, or have you forgotten that they drove us into hiding centuries ago? And from what I saw in London during the war, they are much more powerful now. I was there when the Muggles rained down fire and death over the city. And there are far more of them than us. Eliminating the Muggles is the quest of the fool and a madman, as I was telling the Wizengamot last month. I would be careful on who you give your allegiance to. Although it appears that you have already made your choice, haven't you Cygnus?" Arcturus Black asked his furious nephew, who was being physically restrained by the magics of our nearby House Elves.

The Head of the House of Black then used his wand to pull back the sleeve of Cygnus's right arm revealing a black mark that depicted a skull that had a snake in it's mouth. Cygnus paled as the majority of my family looked at him with the same mixture of revulsion and shock that I was sure was on my face.

It was then that father stood. "I think it would be wise for us to send the children to the sitting room. Preferably, the one on the other side of the manor," he said calmly.

"That would be wise indeed, my son. All of those underage will go there now while we discuss what to do when a member of the House of Black allows himself to be branded like livestock," Arcturus said, giving me a look to lead my brothers and cousins from the room. I nodded and did my duty as Heir and led my them to the small sitting room on the other side of Black Manor.

As the seven of us made our across the manor, I noticed that Bellatrix looked angry. It was the kind of look that made me extremely nervous, knowing exactly what she was capable of. She may not be as crazy as she was after Voldemort and Rodolphus Lestrange got their hands on her, but she was still an extremely powerful witch with a quick temper.

"Sirius, do me a favor and take Reggie and Eric back to your room and keep an eye on them. Don't look now, but Bellatrix looks really pissed right now. It's times like this I wish you were the heir," I whispered to my brother.

Sirius paled. He was fortunately smart enough not to chance a look at our cousin. He knew better after the last time he gave her a funny look to tease her when she was walking out of the bathroom two years ago. It took almost two days for the boils to heal, even with magic. I have made it a point to keep track of her periods ever since for my own personal safety. He nodded, gave me a slight look of pity, and led Regulus and Eric towards the staircase with the promise of getting them some dessert when they got to his room.

Just before I reached the dining room, I silently summoned a house elf to discreetly take the three Black sister's wands and any weapons they might have. I hadn't forgotten Dobby, after all. I didn't think Andromeda and Narcissa would attack me, but I didn't want to take any chances, especially since Bella might take them from them and use them.

This turned out to be a wise move, for as soon as we reached the dining room, Bella exploded. "I can't believe Lord Black would believe such sick lies! The Dark Lord is a powerful wizard!! I met him last month, and he cannot be anything but!" Bella said angrily.

"That may be true, Bella. But Arcturus is the Lord of the House of Black, not this Lord Voldemort. And he has ordered the House of Black to stay away from his crusade. And no member of the House of Black should ever stoop so low as to be branded like livestock," I responded calmly.

A fuming Bella reached for her wand. "Where's my wand? And my knife?!! Give them back, you filthy little beast," Bellatrix demanded.

"I had a house elf confiscate them before we walked in the room, because you looked like my mother before she started punishing me with the Cruciatus Curse. Now all of you will sit down and listen!!" I ordered, pushing my magical aura as I did. I was extremely fortunate that the inbreeding had not affected my magical power in the slightest, only my mental state. Fortunately, I had experience with that from my last life, so that wasn't a problem. Although how me and my brothers weren't deformed Squibs was surprising.

But it was still surprising that all three of my cousins shrank back in fear and sat down when I did so. Narcissa I had expected, but the older girls I had not. I knew I was powerful, and a natural Occlumens thanks to training with Grandfather, but this was extremely unexpected. Maybe all of my dreams and plans for my life as Krios Black was possible after all.

"Now listen carefully. Uncle Cygnus has deliberately gone against a direct order from his Head of House. He and Aunt Druella will be cast out of the family and their marriage will be dissolved for taking the Dark Lord's mark. There is nothing any of us can do about that. The only thing you can control is whether or not you will join them as nameless," I said firmly. I was a bit harsh, but I wanted to keep my cousins safe. I still felt bad when all three girls burst into tears.

Comforting crying women was something that I had little experience in, both in my past and current lives. But I knew that sitting between Cissy and Andy and putting an arm around them in comfort was a good start. They were my family. Granted, they may be snobby bitches at times, but they were still my family. And it was my job to protect them.

"What's going to happen to us? Will Lord Black kick us out too?" Narcissa asked, fear evident in her eyes. Bella and Andy paled at this. For a pureblood witch, being nameless was a fate worse then death. And being underage and beautiful young women, a man like Cygnus Black would likely sell his daughters to an old pureblood lord to be sex slaves to get back on his feet financially. And that is something I would not allow, no matter what grandfather said.

"I swear to you that you will be safe. Grandfather will not disown you. He may ask you to swear loyalty to the House of Black, though. But I promise you that if you do that, I will protect you from any punishments coming from your parents actions," I said seriously. My position as Heir gave me a lot of power politically and gave me influence with my grandfather, so they knew I meant what I said and had the power to back it up.

All three girls smiled gratefully at me in response. Narcissa leaned up against my shoulder. "_Merlin, even with her makeup running she's beautiful. No, no bad Krios. You're eleven and incest is bad. Damn, puberty is gonna be a bitch. Can't believe I have to do that shit again," _I thought to myself.

"What do you think your grandfather is going to do to our father?" Andromeda asked fearfully, breaking the silence.

I hesitated. Thanks to my meddling, Arcturus Black hated Voldemort and his Death Eaters and now believed he must do whatever it to keep his family out of his clutches. And unfortunately, I doubted Cygnus Black would be leaving Black Manor tonight alive. There was no way he would take being disowned and divorced well, and he would probably try to kill Grandfather. But he would fail, and House Black would emerge united against Voldemort. Grandfather was intending to demand magical oaths to make sure of that. I am sincerely hoping that Uncle Cygnus was the only casualty. But I didn't know how to tell them that.

My silence told them all they needed to know, however. Now all three girls were sobbing and clinging to me. I did my best to comfort them silently, knowing that trying to tell them it would be alright was a lie.

Sometime later, Tippy appeared. "Master Arcturus has summoned you and the Mistresses Black to his study, Master Krios," Tippy said.

"Thank you, Tippy," I said, and began to lead my teary-eyed cousins to my Grandfather's study. When we arrived, I was quickly noticed that my grandfather, father, and Aunt Dorea, who was rather pale, were present.

A cover story was quickly explained to them, before they were hustled out of the study and told to retire for the night. Cygnus, Druella, Cassiopeia, and Pollux Black has tried to kill Lord Arcturus Black in response to the law he had passed. They had failed thanks to the sacrifice of one of our House Elves and quick spellwork. He, along with Charlus and Dorea Potter, had returned fire, killing Cygnus. Pollux and Cassieopia had fled when they realized they were outnumbered. Charlus had been hurt badly, but he would live. Druella was alive, but had been captured and been imprisoned at 12 Grimmauld Place with my Mother and had her wand snapped. Officially, she had been killed along with Cygnus and would never be seen again.

Fortunately, archaic rules predating the Wizengamot allowed Arcturus to declare it a family matter of the House of Black, effectively shutting down any investigation down. It pissed the Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement off, but there was nothing they could do about it. The Head of the Most Ancient House of Rosier was also furious over his daughter's death, but realized that she had sealed her fate by attempting to kill Arcturus Black. That didn't stop him from planning revenge when the Dark Lord was ready to reveal himself publicly to the Wizarding World.

Unfortunately, this same law allowed Cassieopia and Pollux to avoid being arrested. They had still left the country, however. Arcturus Black had a lot of contacts in shady organizations, and they likely feared that he would come for them. They were probably going to join Voldemort in France. Pollux had a personal chateau there, so it was likely that they were hiding out there.

According to one of Grandfather's contacts, the Dark Lord had a birth certificate naming his father as the last of an ancient French family, Rochambeau. The bastard was making sure that his Muggle roots were kept a secret. He was actually related to the Rochambeau's though Marvolo Gaunt's sister, making him the closest living relative either way. The heavily warded Manor somewhere in France was likely a nice bonus. The worst part was that everyone, with the exception of myself and Albus Dumbledore, would always believe that the Dark Lord was a pureblood. It threw a couple of my plans to thwart him out the window.

Charlus and Dorea quickly agreed to go along with the cover story once they learned that they were Death Eaters. Charlus was a veteran of the war against Grindelwald and WWII and had fought Grindelwald personally. He had barely survived both wars. He had several scars, a replacement metal arm hidden under his robes and he still walked with a limp. He was there when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in a duel in 1945. He never wanted to see another Dark Wizard with that kind of power again. He had even sent Grandfather a bottle of 1945 Ogden's Firewhiskey a few days later.

I later learned Grandfather would be taking custody over the girls until they came of age. This allowed Grandfather to cancel a marriage contract between Rudolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix, at my suggestion. Not that he needed it. The clauses in the contract basically made her a slave. If I had felt bad about inadvertently causing the death and imprisonment of Cygnus and Druella Black before, I certainly didn't now.

Rodolphus could tell her to kill, screw, or torture whoever he wanted her to and she wouldn't be able to do otherwise. And she would enjoy it, too. It made me sick that a parent would do that. The Head of the House of Lestrange and Uncle Cygnus had agreed in the contract that she would bear heirs of both House Lestrange and House Slytherin. I have never enjoyed watching a piece of paper burn like I did when Grandfather tossed it in the fire after I had showed it to him. I'm glad I had suspected it exsisted, as it was rather well hidden. Gotta love House Elves. Such a wonderful source of information.

The Lestranges had been pissed, but legally there was nothing they could do. And one look at my grandfather's irate face that was likely trying to kill the man with his glare when he saw Reinhardt Lestrange approaching him at the Ministry was enough to make the man walk quickly the other way. Considering that it took a lot to anger Arcturus Black like that, walking away had probably saved him from being called into an honor duel. Reinhardt had apparently hoped that Arcturus hadn't found the contract and was trying to propose a new one, the ambitious ass.

The look of justified rage on the face of Bellatrix when Grandfather told her of the contact sent me running out of the room in fear. I am somewhat looking forward to seeing how miserable the upcoming year at Hogwarts will be for one Rodolphus Lestrange. She spent the next few hours in her room with her sisters. I wonder if he will manage to survive the wrath of the Black sisters. I somehow doubt it. I'd feel sorry for him, but he deserves it.

It wasn't much longer before I found myself in Diagon Alley. The shopping for supplies and books had all been done beforehand via Owl Order. Having House Elves was awesome. All I needed was to be fitted for robes and a wand. And that is how I found myself leaving the shop of Garrick Ollivander and holding my brand new wand, made of Elder wood with a dragon heartstring core after almost an hour in his shop. Ollivander had been impressed that it chose me. Apparently that wand had been extremely hard to make and was his attempt at duplicating the Elder Wand. Grandfather was pleased. My brain is almost shut down in disbelief and glee.

That same feeling was present when I arrived at Platform 9 and 3/4 with my father, brothers, and cousins on September 1st. And it grew stronger as I found myself on the train in a compartment with Eric Potter and Cyrus Greengrass. While I was long aware that this was going to happen at some point, it was still surreal. The arrival at the castle was even more so. Hearing the massive Hagrid call for the first years and seeing the castle from the boats for the first time was even more magical in person than it was reading about it or watching the movie for the first time in my previous life.

It felt like no time had passed before I heard Professor McGonagall my name for the Sorting. I decided to try a trick using Occlumency that I had learned from the Black Library. I quickly cleared my mind of all memories and thoughts and locked them away in my mind. With the exception of one. My special list that no one knew about. Since the Sorting Hat couldn't reveal it's secrets, I knew that it would stay safe. My Grandfather had gotten, or rather demanded, a magical oath from the Headmaster of the time when he was Sorted to prove it. He had always been rather paranoid. The Five Life Goals of Krios Black looked something like this:

_1: Keep my loved ones safe from the Dark Lord and any other threats._

_2: Stop the Dark Lord from gaining power. Do what needs to be done, but protect the innocent._

_3: Gain control of the Ministry and shape it to work for the Wizarding World instead of for itself_

_4: Get Dumbledore on my side. If he's truly working for the Greater Good of the Wizarding World and not the Greater Good of Albus Dumbledore, that won't be hard. If he is an enemy and hasn't changed since his sister's death, eliminate him._

_5\. Do all this and live happily in Black Manor with my family while being served by my House Elves and enjoying my wife and concubines. Apparently, harems are legal for Lords of Ancient and Noble Houses, but uncommon. My grandfather has a couple of concubines that I am not supposed to know about._

It was then I felt the hat start to twitch slightly, before it burst out into laughter. The hall stared as they heard it. "_Gryffindor and Slytherin would have fought another war just to have you in their house. Since the last one nearly destroyed the castle and the Forbidden Forest, I'm rather glad that they're no longer among the living. I believe they would have died from magical exhaustion before a winner was declared. The only reason it ended was because Salazar Slytherin chose to leave the castle before they destroyed it." _the Sorting Hat said in my head.

_"Thanks. Sounds like a battle one would read about between two gods like Thor and Loki. That must have been incredible to witness. I agree with Salazar though. It's better to walk away from a fight where the only thing to be gained is personal pride and untold destruction," I said, pleased to learn some interesting facts about the Founders_," I thought back.

_"It was. And the comparison is more true than you know, considering Godric and Salazar were blessed by Thor and Loki. And Rowena and Helga were blessed by Odin and Frigga. It's a good thing they think it's funny that you mortals think that four witches and wizards could build a sentient castle by themselves. It's a bad idea to offend an Asgardian. I would know, they made me after all. Anyway, I think that you will achieve greatness in _**SLYTHERIN!" **the Sorting Hat finished by announcing my Sorting.

_"What have I gotten myself into?" _I thought as I took my place at the Slytherin table.

**AN: hope you enjoy this new story. Krios's actions will quickly change things, leaving him somewhat clueless on what to do to next. After all, JKR gives us very little detail on the order of events in the Marauder's years at Hogwarts. **


	2. Weddings and Royals

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter **

**November 15th, 1969**

The first two months of classes at Hogwarts were largely uneventful. Life in Slytherin House was much more low-key than I had expected. The transfer of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange to Durmstrang has played a large role in that. Reinhardt Lestrange wasn't a complete idiot, apparently. Seeing the normally controlled and emotionless Arcturus Black look as angry as he had made him realize that his sons would not survive a year at Hogwarts in the same house as the Black sisters and their allies. Which was unfortunate, as it would have been rather easy for them to kill the two future Death Eaters and make it look like an accident.

My yearmates in Slytherins are a mixed bag. There were two first room dorms, and I was roomed with Cyrus and Eric, so that was an excellent situation. Our other roomate, Hadrian Pucey, was decent enough. The other three boys are not the nicest bunch. Loran Bole and Terrence Derrick were neither bright nor polite. Bole and Derrick were often compared to third year Slytherins Crabbe and Goyle, who were cronies of their fellow third year Lucius Malfoy. Considering Warrington was their leader like Lucius was, it was a rather accurate comparison. Some things never change, and apparently the arrogance and entitlement was a genetic trait for Draco in the stories. Both Lucius and Warrington were abnoxious and ambitious snobs, although I was treated with kindness due to my name. But I found their kissing ass routines to be rather pathetic. I am certainly not going to let Narcissa marry Lucius.

The girls in Slytherin were also a mixed bag. Adrianne Shafiq and her friends Ramona Turpin and Samantha Smith seemed like the decent sort, and quickly joined my friend group. They were tolerable, unlike Alberta Runcorn, whose brother Albert was a third year Slytherin, or Mafalda Hopkirk. Alberta was loud, opinionated, and abnoxious, especially on the subject of blood status. And while Mafalda was quiet, she was also a blood supremacist and a snob. But worse was Alberta and Mafalda's choice for their other friend in the first year.

When I had heard the name of Dolores Umbridge called during the Sorting, it took a considerable amount of self control not to start cursing. Umbridge had always been one Harry Potter character I had always thought I would shank on principle if I had been a student at Hogwarts in 1995. As it was, I wasn't sure I would make it through seven years without arranging an unfortunate accident for her. She was completely awful, even at eleven. I had never hated anyone in either of my lives more than I hated her after three months. She was unfortunately smart enough not to comment on my aunt and uncle, though. I could have ruined her for that with a few words to my grandfather.

The deaths of Cygnus and Druella Black were not commented on by the other students of Hogwarts except for the largely insincere condolences made by the Heirs of Noble Houses. Slytherin House knew better than to mess with the House of Black and were gauging the sister's reaction to their parents death. Even their cousin, fourth year Slytherin Evan Rosier, had hardly discussed the death of his aunt and uncle with them. He was angry at Lord Black, but had probably been instructed by his father to keep that to himself. Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa had been instructed by Arcturus to keep any feelings they had on the fate of their parents to themselves as well. House Black needed to show a united front, after all.

Ravenclaw was taking a similar route as Slytherin and studying the reactions of my cousins whenever Arcturus Black or the rumors of a new Dark Lord were mentioned. One of my Ravenclaw friends I had made, Kingsley Shacklebolt, said that the upperclassmen had been impressed by the evasiveness and control shown by the historically passionate Black sisters. Kingsley and fellow fraternal twin Ravenclaws Ranek and Shanti Patil had joined my friend group alongside my fellow Slytherin year mates Eric Potter, Adrianne Shafiq, Ramona Turpin, Samantha Smith, Hadrian Pucey, and Cyrus Greengrass.

Hufflepuff was either too nice or politically neutral and didn't comment. Unsurprisingly, the most sincere condolences came from that house, mainly from one fifth year prefect in Hufflepuff, Edward "Ted" Tonks, to my cousin Andy. Knowing the future is awesome sometimes and I fully intend to enjoy knowing how that relationship turns out. Especially since I can already see sparks flying there. Getting Kingsley and the Patil twins was inspired by my knowledge. But all three had become good friends regardless. Cyrus and Eric were already true friends beforehand, and no future knowledge would have ever impacted those two relationships.

Gryffindor had surprisingly said absolutely nothing to anyone in my family about the death of Cygnus and Druella Black. It wasn't until I heard a conversation between sixth year Gryffindor Bilius Weasley and a sixth year blonde Hufflepuff girl (whose name I didn't know) that I found out why.

Apparently, a mouthy third year was trying to be clever in the Gryffindor common room and made a crude pun on how our last name made us all dark wizards, and how it had led to my aunt and uncle's death. Unfortunately for him, the comment had been heard by Head Boy and Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Reginald Longbottom. He was the older brother of third year Gryffindor Helena Longbottom and ten year old Frank Longbottom. And he had not been pleased by the comment, especially since it was made in front of his thirteen year old sister.

Reginald had grabbed the foul-mouthed third year, Barnabus McLaggen, by the robes and slammed him up against the wall. "If I ever hear you or anyone else in Gryffindor say something like that again, I will take you down to the dungeons and make you repeat it to the Black sisters and their cousins. And knowing Bellatrix Black and Evan Rosier, you'll probably be spending the next month in St. Mungo's Spell Reversal Ward," he said angrily, with a fierce expression that made everyone present sure that he would follow through on his promise.

Upon hearing what had transpired in Gryffindor's common room, two thoughts came to mind. One, Barnabus McLaggen was going to have a miserable next month or so getting hexed and pranked. I made a note to talk with Eric about that, he would definitely want in. Maybe Cyrus as well. Two, I found myself thinking how ironic it would have been if Reginald was the one that Bellatrix had been betrothed to. Though that wasn't going to happen for a number of reasons, it was a nice thought. Once it had become public knowledge that the eldest daughter of the House of Black was single and unintended, betrothal offers had been flooding Grandfather's office, along with several for Andy and Narcissa.

This presented quite the dilemma, in my opinion. Bellatrix was extremely fascinated by the Dark Arts, and had learned at the feet of our mad Aunt Cassieopia and her mother. In another world, she would be marrying Rodolphus Lestrange and become Lord Voldemort's lover and most devoted follower. She would become a insane murderess that was completely obsessed with murdering and torturing whoever she pleased until she was finally put down. But thanks to my meddling, Bellatrix would never become a Lestrange, and would only be able to become a Death Eater if her husband was. Granted, she was still rather insane if you asked me.

Because Bellatrix would be of age in one month, the pressure to make a match that would be profitable for the House of Black was considerable. The most powerful and impressive betrothal offer was from The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Dolohov, who had an eligible heir in twenty-three year old Vladimir Dolohov. And the Dolohovs were royalty in the Wizarding World.

They were closely related to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Romanov, which was as famous in the Wizarding World as they were in the mundane world. A Wizarding family ruling an entire country was practically unheard of. Since the Romanov dynasty had begun before the Statute of Secrecy was made into law, they had been mostly left alone for almost seventy years. However, magic had died out in the blood of the royal family, so the Romanovs had folded to the pressure from the ICW, leaving the magical side in the Wizarding World and their Squib relatives in the Royal family in 1762 with the death of Empress Elizabeth. The Romanovs were still ruling Russia in the Wizarding World though, with the elderly Tsar Peter X currently ruling the monarchy there.

The current head of the House of Dolohov was the right-hand man to the Tsar, as his ancestors had been for the last 150 years or so. They wielded a tremendous amount of wealth and political power, so the political and financial gains from the match would be significant. As it stood, Vladimir was fifth in line to the throne, after the Tsar's twelve year old son, ten year old daughter, and Vladimir's father. The Tsar hadn't sired any heirs until well into his sixties, as he had been the second son until his older brother and his family had been killed by Grindelwald and his followers for opposing him in 1945, four months before Dumbledore defeated the Dark Lord in a duel. Peter's infant nephew had survived, but had perished at the age of fourteen due to a deadly magical illness that had swept across Russia claiming hundreds of lives. And so Peter became Tsar in 1959.

The only problem in my book with this match was that his younger brother, twenty-one year old Antonin Dolohov, was a Death Eater in Voldemort's Inner Circle. But Vladimir wasn't marked when he met with my grandfather. Which meant that Voldemort hadn't marked him. And Grandfather had signed the betrothal offer, making the engagement of Bellatrix Black to Vladimir Dolohov official. Something that I couldn't blame him for. The chance to tie the House of Black to the prestige and wealth of the House of Dolohov was too impressive to pass up. The wedding would be over the winter holidays in Tsar Peter's party manor outside Moscow. Yeah, he has a party manor. Apparently the Russian royal family are extremely paranoid about people knowing where they live, which is understandable considering their status. The Blacks have one too, so I suppose that it's not just the Russians who are paranoid. Considering our family though, our paranoia is extremely justified as well.

I am quickly realizing how little I knew about this time period. There was a few things that he did know, but most of them were things that I couldn't change unless I wanted to become a serial killer hunting Death Eaters and make myself and my family even bigger targets for Voldemort and his minions. And considering that he has five Horocruxes at the moment and I am only eleven years old, that would be a absolutely terrible idea.

So, trying to keep my cousin out of Voldemort's hands would have to do for now. Good thing he doesn't know that I'm the one behind it. In the meantime, I was determined to enjoy being a kid at a school for magic. Learning and having fun were my top two priorities at the moment. But I plan to wait until the Marauders come to Hogwarts in two years to start unleashing my prank ideas. I am a Slytherin after all, and having both the Prewett twins, who are Gryffindor pranksters in my year, and the Marauders to blame appeals to me.

**December 27th, 1969**

The Tsar's party palace was rather impressive, I have to admit. Makes me wonder what his house looked like. My father looked rather jealous, which is extremely hard to do to someone who grew up with the extensive power and wealth of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. I have always been of the opinion that such lavish palaces and manors were pointless, unnecessary and an extension of the owner's massive ego and desire for attention. Which is something I will never ever say in front of a rich pureblood, especially my father and grandfather. They would not be amused.

My grandfather had informed me that the marriage contract had specified that Vladimir would not join any terrorist organization. Nor could he allow Bellatrix to join. And because of the contract being a legally binding magical contract, he would lose his magic if he did. So Bellatrix and Vladimir Dolohov would never be joining the ranks of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Instead, they would both be living in one of the Dolohov's manors outside of Moscow, about a hundred or so miles from here.

This was the best scenario in my opinion. She would be safe and happy with Vladimir, in my opinion. She would be out of harm's way when Voldemort started his campaign of terror. And while she might agree with the Dark Lord's agenda, if I was put in harms way, she would come after him in all of her fury. She was extremely loyal to me once she was told that I was the one that found her marriage contract to Rodolphus Lestrange, and that it wouldn't have been found if it wasn't for me. Now, there was only one person that she would kill for, and it wasn't the Dark Lord or Vladimir Dolohov.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Narcissa and Andromeda were Bellatrix's bridesmaids. It was a very traditional and boring pureblood ceremony. It was easily the most boring wedding I have ever been to, in either of my lives. Sirius and Regulus had gone home with father shortly after the ceremony, as no one trusted a bored Sirius. There was a chance that he might cause an international incident with his antics. That left me sitting alone watching the rich lords and ladies play politics while waiting for the ball portion of the reception to begin.

Most of the other young children my age had been sent home by the time the dancing started, with the exception of the daughters of the rich purebloods that were obviously being shown off like prize mares, Narcissa and Andromeda among them. The youngest male heirs still present were of age or close to being so. I have never been fond of all the political posturing at these parties, and I felt rather sorry for my cousins. All I had to do was be a polite little lording when I was spoken to, which wasn't often since I was only eleven. They were the ones that had to deal with them all night.

I did have to admit the guest list was extremely impressive, as dignitaries from what appeared to be every Ministry of Magic in Europe and Asia were there. The Dolohovs, my grandfather, and Romanovs had certainly spared no expense and gone all out. I could see Minister Jenkins and my grandfather speaking with Tsar Peter and the Russian Prime Minister of Magic. My grandfather had pointed out several ministers and important dignitaries to watch, and important heirs to talk to. Fortunately those conversations had been short, as even the ones that recognized my intelligence and status were more interested in the single ladies in the room. It wasn't until I approached the heirs of the royal family heirs in their private booth that my streak of boring but informative conversations ended.

"Greetings, Prince Romanov. And Princess Romanov. My name is Krios Black, Heir of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I was hoping that I could have the honor to have a moment to speak with your Highnesses?" I asked, making sure to address them with the respect their status demanded. They had a few guards beside them, so I felt that doing so would be beneficial to my health.

"Of course, let him through," the Prince said, looking rather exasperated as he waved the guards aside. I couldn't blame him, being sucked up to by pretentious lordlings is an exhausting experience. I handed my wand to the guard before I stepped in, much to his suprise. I just gave him a look.

"I would have thought you would be more careful. I could be an imposter under Polyjuice Potion or under the Imperius Curse. Honestly, what is the point of having guards, your Highnesses, if they are this incompetent? Especially at such an exposed event such as this?" I asked the prince and princess. I was rather suprised for a reason. The Queen Mother had been poisoned four years ago. The King would have been killed if the Queen hadn't drank and collapsed before he could take a sip of the wine. The guard responsible had committed suicide before he could be questioned, leaving the King extremely overprotective of his children.

"That is an excellent question, Heir Black. One should never assume that a threat doesn't exsist based on appearances. I will make sure to talk to my father about this," the prince said, looking rather angry at his guards. He was understandably still upset over his mother's murder, and was well aware that the guard most likely hadn't acted alone. The party responsible was undoubtedly still at large.

I walked past the rather embarrassed and nervous guards and took a seat across from the prince and princess. "Thank you Heir Black for your interest in our safety. If I may, why did you say something? Most lordlings such as yourself would never give up your wand voluntarily no matter the circumstances," the Princess asked, giving me a calculating look.

"Natalia!" the Prince exclaimed looking scandalized at the blunt questioning of his younger sister.

"It's quite alright, your Highness. To tell you the truth princess, my grandfather and your father are old friends and allies. I remember how the death of the Queen had saddened him when he had received the news. Not only is it my duty to protect our families to preserve that alliance, but it an honor as well. I sincerely hope that we can renew that friendship and alliance," I said with a smile.

"I appreciate that Heir Black. We do not have many friends that would be willing to give up their wand for our safety," the Prince said with a small smile after a moment of stunned silence from the royal heirs at my words.

"In the interest of not starting our friendship on a lie, I have a confession to make. Your guard is holding an ordinary stick. My wand is in my dress robes," I said, smiling sheepishly.

The prince and princess stared at me for a moment. Then, the princess started giggling, which somehow caused the prince to burst into laughter as well. "Well played, Heir Black, well played," the prince said with a smile after managing to gain control over his amusement.

"Thank you, your Highness. And please, call me Krios," I said with a smile.

"Only if you call us Boris and Natalia," the princess said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. The prince nodded his agreement after glaring at his sister slightly in exasperation.

"As you wish, Prince Boris and Princess Natalia," I said with a mischievous grin, causing the prince to burst into laughter again and the princess to roll her eyes at me.

"So, my father tells me that you just began your study at Hogwarts. What is it like?" Natalia asked.

"Despite our Founders dreadful ability for naming things, it's truly an incredible castle. The ceiling in the Great Hall is enchanted to look like the night sky. And don't even get me started on all the hidden rooms and passages in the castle," I told them.

The conversation continued for quite some time, with the topics ranging from Hogwarts to Prince Boris's private studies in magic from hired tutors to our family lives. I knew that I had made two good friends tonight. It wasn't until I looked up at the guard approaching us that I realized that the party was pretty much over. Only my grandfather, father, Narcissa, Andromeda, Tsar Peter, Lord Dolohov, the Russian Prime Minister of Magic and a group of about fifty guards remained.

"Your Highnesses, Heir Black, your fathers wish to depart," the guard said nervously. We allowed the guard and three others to lead us to the fireplace to Floo home. As we said our goodbyes and my grandfather, father, and cousins disappeared into the Floo, I noticed a few things about the guards surrounding the prince and princess. One, they looked rather nervous. And two, they smelled like the Polyjuice Potion from the storeroom in Black Manor. I realized that the Royal Family was in grave danger.

Fortunately, the Chief of Security realized it the exact moment I did. "Imposters!" he yelled, and drew his wand at the guards around us. I quickly drew my wand and shot a banishing charm at the closest guard, knocking him backwards.

"Run!" I yelled, pulling the prince and princess out of harms way. Fortunately, the guards nearby were too preoccupied trying to protect themselves to stop us. The bad news was there was more than a few imposters in the Royal Guard. And they were being led by the Russian Prime Minister of Magic, who was shouting orders to kill us. I saw Lord Dolohov fall dead to a jet of green light from the wand of the Russian Prime Minister as I ran, shielding our back with my Shield Charm. But I also saw the Chief of Security Dissapparate with the Tsar to safety. The roar of anger from the Prime Minister was evidence that they had missed their target.

I led the prince and princess down a hallway away from the fight and into a room. I quickly barricaded the door with both magic and furniture with the help of the prince. "There. That should hold them for now," I said, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead.

"I can't believe that the Prime Minister would betray us like that. He was one of Father's most trusted advisors!" Prince Boris said in disbelief.

"Power and ambition tends to corrupt the minds of those weak enough to give into it. At least they failed to kill you and your father," I said with a grimace.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Princess Natalia said fearfully, her pale face shining in the darkness of the room.

Before I could answer, the door handle rattled. "They're in here!" the voice of a guard shouted.

"Gremlin! Get us out of here!" I yelled, calling for my personal elf. He appeared within seconds of my call. And just as he did, the door exploded, revealing what was likely the only two guards that survived the skirmish in the hall and the Prime Minister.

"Black Manor!" I yelled, and Gremlin disappeared just as the guards casted curses where we sat hunched together. I turned my back to shield them as Gremlin worked his magic. If they hit Gremlin, we were all dead. I heard was the voice of my grandfather when we arrived. "Orion, get Dorea, now!" And then I knew no more.

Arcturus Black couldn't have been more proud of his heir as he watched him talking and laughing with the Prince and Princess. He knew he had made the right choice in allowing his heir to remain at the wedding despite his age. He had no worries about leaving his grandson behind to say goodbye to his new allies, knowing that he was responsible enough that he would be following him in a timely manner. But when he didn't come through the Floo, he began to worry. And when he showed up with the prince and princess covered in blood that was coming from his back where he had undoubtedly taken a curse protecting them, he had felt fear for the first time since the war against Grindelwald.

He quickly had Orion call for Dorea, who was a Healer at St. Mungo's. The prince quickly explained that they had been betrayed and attacked, and how Krios, his heir, had saved their lives. And while Arcturus couldn't help but feel a burst of pride for his grandson's heroics and quick thinking, he was terrified that it would be at the cost of his own life.

Dorea quickly rushed into the room. After muttering a few healing spells, she turned to Arcturus. "He took an extremely dark curse that appears to be trying to rupture his organs. I've managed to stop the progress of the curse, but we need to get him to St. Mungo's immediately in order to save his life," Dorea said, her face conveying how serious the situation was. Arcturus nodded.

"Go," he said. Dorea nodded, and conjured a stretcher and Flooed herself and the stretcher to St. Mungo's. He then turned to the pale-faced prince and the tear-streaked face of the princess. "Gremlin, lead the Prince and Princess to our finest guest rooms. I must go to Russia and ensure the safety of the King," Arcturus told the scared house elf. Considering how attached the creature was to his grandson, he could see why.

"Yes Lord Black," the House Elf said with a bow, and led the prince and princess away. The Lord of the House of Black then muttered a few spells and then turned to his son. "Inform Alphard of what has happened and bring him here. Do it discreetly, I am not ready to deal with Dumbledore yet," Arcturus told Orion.

"Yes father. I will not fail you," Orion swore, before heading to one of the other fireplaces in the Manor that Arcturus wasn't about to use.

"See to it that you don't," Arcturus said, before calling through the Floo to the King's private quarters. "Peter! You there?" Arcturus called. He heard a chair knocked over as the King scrambled towards the fireplace, despite protests from his security.

"Arcturus, my children! Have you seen them? Are they safe?" Tsar Peter asked, obvious concern etched on his face. He had seen Krios Black lead them away from the fight before being taken to safety and had hoped that he had managed to get them away somehow.

"What was the name of my first crush?" Arcturus asked him seriously.

The King smiled slightly as he answered. "Your cousin Callidora Black."

"Yes they are safe. My heir called his personal House Elf and had him bring them here. He took an extremely Dark Curse shielding your children with his body. He's at St. Mungo's now, and he's in critical condition. And I want to know exactly why that is the case," Arcturus said, his anger evident.

The King paled. He knew that friendship or not, he had better provide answers. He knew that there was no one that Arcturus Black loved and cherished more than his heir. It was in this moment that he was extremely fortunate to have the men responsible in custody. He quickly explained what had happened and that the Russian Aurors had arrived quickly on the scene and had captured the Prime Minister and the two remaining guards. There was no doubt that they would be executed for the murder of Lord Dolohov and almost forty Royal Guards, including the ones that had been impersonated. Vladimir had already been informed. Antonin had recently been disowned due to his new allegiances to the Dark Lord, so they hadn't bothered to inform him. Apparently the Dolohovs weren't fans of their members being branded like livestock either.

"I understand you want blood for this, old friend, but I have already promised Vladimir their heads for the death of his father," the King said nervously, hoping he would understand and keep this from being even more of an international incident than it was. Both of his heirs owed Krios Black a life debt, and if the boy died, Arcturus would undoubtedly demand the heads of those responsible as payment for one of the debts, as they would pass to him as Head of House. If Arcturus made this a problem, he would have to give him what he wanted. And he didn't want to disrespect the House of Dolohov any more than the House of Black, as both were extremely dangerous enemies to have.

"He can have them on the condition that his wife, my niece, assists him. It'll be far worse for the traitors that way. Bellatrix is extremely fond of my grandson, and I have no doubt that she will wish to express her displeasure with some of the old Black family spells," Arcturus replied after a moment, grinning viciously at the thought.

"I am sure that Vladimir will agree you that," the King said in obvious relief. "_Vladimir will have no desire to have that woman angry at him when he has to sleep with her to preserve his family line," _Tsar Peter thought with a slight shudder. He had only spoken to the bride for a few moments, but it was long enough to privately thank the stars and whatever deities exsisted that Vladimir was loyal and on his side. Having that woman after his head along with the other members of the House of Dolohov would most certainly end the reign of the House of Romanov.

The next few days were filled with anxiety and fear for his grandson for one Arcturus Black. He, Dorea, Alphard, and Orion took turns staying by Krios's hospital bed. The prince and princess had been sent home once they extracted a promise from their father that they could visit as soon as Krios was well enough. The princess had refused to leave without it. This of course had both Orion and Arcturus thinking about a marriage contract between Princess Natalia and Krios when they were older. Considering how ambitious they both were, this idea would have suprised no one if they had heard it.

The Daily Prophet had gotten ahold of the story and proclaimed Krios Black a hero. Arcturus found it ironic that the story didn't even have to be sensationalized, as it was incredible on its own. Although that didn't stop the Prophet from claiming that Krios had created a Portkey to save the Prince and Princess from danger. Arcturus didn't bother to correct them. He preferred the credit to go to his grandson. Let the masses keep believing House Elves were inferior and not worth noticing. Although he did check and make sure that Black Manor had wards against Dark Wizards with House Elves.

Fortunately, at least one of his ancestors had thought of that. Those with intentions of harm couldn't get in that way. Funnily enough, only Azkaban was protected from that. And that was probably the work of the original owner. The Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts were not, although he had no intention of telling anyone that. Too many opportunities to exploit in the future. The idea of sending his house elf into the Minister's office to spy on her, for starters. Arcturus had always wondered what the nerds in the Department of Mysteries got up to in the lower levels of the Ministry. Krios was definitely getting an increase in his allowance once he woke up.

**Krios POV**

It was a week after the attack before Krios Black woke. Arcturus was the one staying with him at the time. "Ughh where am I?" I groaned. My muscles felt extremely stiff. I suddenly remembered what had happened, and that I had been hit by a curse.

"You're in St. Mungo's, Krios. You gave us quite a scare," Dorea said, as the wards had apparently alerted her that I had awoken. She forced me to choke down some of the most awful concoctions I had ever tasted. I sputtered indignantly as I swallowed.

"Damn it, Aunt Dorea what the hell was that for?" I asked my aunt in outrage. I mean, the first thing she did when I woke up from a coma was shove that nasty crap down my throat!

"Language, Krios. Your Aunt has been the Healer in charge of your care and the reason you are alive. We weren't sure that you were going to make it, you know," my grandfather said sternly. I could see the relief and worry in my grandfather's eyes. It was nice to know that he cared.

"Sorry, Aunt Dorea," I said softly, feeling thoroughly chastised.

"That's quite alright dear. I managed to convince the other healers to allow you to go home. However, you will be having a week of bed rest before you are allowed to return to Hogwarts and I will be putting you on a potion regiment that you will be following," Aunt Dorea said sternly. Her eyes were the only thing that conveyed how much she cared.

"Yes, Aunt Dorea," I said, knowing arguing with her was a losing battle. Plus, I really didn't want to stay at St. Mungo's. I have always hated hospitals. My grandfather filled me in on everything that had happened while I was in the hospital. Hogwarts had started yesterday, so I would be missing a week or so of school. Sirius had been driving everyone insane with the antics that he had been pulling trying to "cheer everyone up" in attempt to take his mind off his brother's condition. He had escaped severe punishment only because it had in fact cheered an extremely gloomy Regulus up.

Bellatrix hadn't returned to Hogwarts, having already taken her NEWTS early. Apparently this was a good thing, as Grandfather had received a letter from the Headmaster complaining that one Barnabus McLaggen would be spending the next week in the hospital wing after insinuating that the school was better off if Krios died. And Narcissa and Andromeda had been hacked off to say the least.

I have no idea what family spell they used to turn the boy into a banana slug for a week, but I was rather impressed. Especially since both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall were Transfiguration prodigies. And both Andromeda and Narcissa had refused to change him back. Arcturus had sent a Howler telling the Headmaster that he was proud of his nieces and that the boy was lucky that Bellatrix had graduated. Apparently the Headmaster had received the letter at breakfast this morning, thoroughly chastising the Headmaster. Apparently the entire Great Hall had heard Lord Black's accusations that he actively protected and allowed bullying.

This had lead to a rather long argument over the Floo. It was safe to say that nothing had been accomplished from it and both men were extremely unhappy with each other. Personally, I agreed with my grandfather. Bullying had always had a free reign at Hogwarts, especially with Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. There was little anyone could do about that with Dumbledore's power and influence at Hogwarts nearly untouchable at the moment.

Although, my grandfather did convince the Wizengamot to appoint a different representative to the ICW, as he had voiced his opinion that three positions was too much work, even for someone as powerful as Albus Dumbledore. Fortunately, the majority of the Wizengamot agreed. The defection of the Black seat from the traditionally Dark faction of the Wizengamot to the Neutral faction had actually given Arcturus even more sway than he had before. The Dark faction didn't dare to speak out publicly and call him a blood traitor, and the Light faction couldn't afford to alienate him as the new leader of the Neutral faction either. It was a beautiful situation for us.

Over the week that I was at home, Sirius and Regulus hardly left my side. It took me an entire two days to convince them that I was going to be fine. Even my father was somewhat parental for once. Honestly, Dumbledore would probably faint from shock at seeing how familial the Blacks were right now. It actually took a couple days for the shock and gratitude to give way to irritation over having to stay in bed. It was the third day that my bedroom was graced by visitors that I had honestly not expected, despite the fact I had saved their lives.

"Krios, you have visitors," Dorea said poking her head into the room where I was currently chatting with my brothers. The door opened and a blur of blonde hair few towards me, and somehow I was suddenly being embraced by the crying princess of Russia. I looked up and saw her brother and father standing in my room, chuckling at the princess and my likely stunned expression. To be fair, I doubted I looked as ridiculous as Sirius and Regulus did seeing the King of Russia in my bedroom. Actually, never mind I felt my jaw drop upon realizing that the _King of Wizarding Russia was in my bedroom. Merlin's Pants!!!!_

"Your Grace," I stammered slightly through the surprisingly crushing hug of the ten year old princess.

"Natalia, be careful Heir Black is still healing," the King said with a chuckle.

Natalia quickly let go. "I'm sorry, are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?" the princess asked.

"No, you're fine. I'm healing rather quickly. I'm honored that you have come all this way to visit, your Graces," I said, quickly trying to gather my wits. I really did not want to make a fool out of myself in front of the King.

The King waved his hand dismissively. "The honor is ours, Heir Black. If it wasn't for you, both of my heirs would have been killed and the House of Romanov would have ended with me. The House of Romanov is in your debt, and we acknowledge that both my heirs owe you a life debt," the King said. I could feel the magic in the air as the debt was acknowledged. I had completely forgotten about those. And of all the possible people to owe me a life debt, it was the Prince and Princess of Russia!

"I accept your thanks and acknowledge the debt. However, I believe that I must take some time to consider how or when I wish the debt to be repayed. I confess that you have caught me off guard," I told them, still rather shocked at what just occurred.

"That is understandable. Just know that if you ever need anything, the House of Romanov will be there to honor our debt," the King said.

"Thank you, your Grace. Although, I only did what anyone else would have done," I said numbly.

The King smiled at this. "Heir Black, I think we both know that is not true. You are a hero to my family and the people of Magical Russia. Never forget that," the King said, as he turned and left the room. Boris then turned to me.

"When you first offered your hand in friendship, I expected that you would be another superficial friend trying to curry favor. I was wrong. I am honored to have you as my friend and hope that someday I can repay my debt," the prince said clasping my hand in gratitude. I shook it, and thanked him. The princess just blushed, handed me a letter and squeaked a thanks before rushing out of the room. Boris shook his head, chuckled, and followed her out of the room.

A moment of stunned silence followed, before Sirius had to break it with an inappropriate comment. "Is it just me, or is the princess in love with you?" Sirius asked me with a grin.

I glared at him. "Out!!" I shouted, ordering him and Regulus out of the room. The laughing boys fled the room, singing something about me and the princess sitting in a tree. I swore to hex the hell out of those two when I got my wand back.

**AN: hope you liked the update. I have not given up on my crossover fic, and I intend to update it in the next couple of months or so. This is a fic that I have had in my head for months now and is one I will be updating soon. Enjoy!**


	3. The Dawn of War

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or any other characters you may recognize **

**January 11th, 1970**

I arrived at the front gates of Hogwarts just as breakfast was beginning in the Great Hall. The Headmaster and the staff had not been informed. In fact, everyone at at Hogwarts was under the impression that I wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Fortunately, I convinced Grandfather to allow me to make an entrance worthy of the Heir of the House of Black. He seemed to find the idea of pulling one over on the Headmaster rather delightful, and had placed a Dissolutionment Charm on me to allow me to enter Hogwarts unnoticed. He had called a meeting of the Board of Governors with the Headmaster for that morning. So while he headed to the Headmaster's office for the meeting, I snuck into the castle and opened the doors of the Great Hall.

As soon as I touched the door, the charm dissapated, making me visible. I strode through the entrance confidently. " Morning, everyone! Sorry I'm late. Getting hit by a Organ-Rupturing Curse is an exhausting experience. It's awful, wouldn't recommend it _oof!" _My grand entrance was interrupted by the crushing hugs of my cousins Narcissa and Andromeda. I barely managed to avoid being knocked over. And then someone -_Eric Potter- _started clapping. Pretty soon, the entire Great Hall was standing and applauding. I am certain that not all of them were sincere, but I was fairly certain the majority of them were.

To the Slytherins, I had prevented the extinction of one of the oldest and most distinguished pureblood lines with my quick thinking, and now I had secured an alliance with the Royal family as a result. To the Ravenclaws, I was a genius for being able to power a Portkey at age eleven under pressure and the threat of death. To the Hufflepuffs, I had risked my life and nearly was killed protecting my friends. And to the Gryffindors, I had risked my life to save the lives of others, one of them being a Princess. Slytherin or not, they were impressed and more than willing to applaud my heroism.

As the applause died down, my cousins led me to my seat at the Slytherin table and took the spots beside me, looking like mother hens shoving food in front of me. Eric and Cyrus came up beside me. "Hail the conquering hero!" they said in sync, grinning mischievously.

"Oh stuff it you two. They're just jealous that you got meet the Royal family and that your the center of attention now that people aren't asking them when you are coming back," Adrianne Zabini said from across the Slytherin table. Both of my friends started sputtering denials as our group burst into laughter. Kingsley and the Patil twins came up and sat with us once the laughter died down.

"Good to see you back mate. I have been meaning to confirm a rumor that I have been hearing. Is it true that the Princess of Russia is in love with you?" Eric asked with a wicked grin. I didn't need a mirror to know that my entire face was beet red. I groaned in disbelief.

"Sirius wrote you, didn't he?" I asked, putting my face in my hands.

"Yup. He seemed quite sure of it, you know. Apparently she ran in and hugged you with tears in her eyes upon seeing her savior alive and well, and even wrote you a letter before stammering a goodbye and running from the room with her face flushed and swooning with desire," Eric said. He was an excellent story teller much to my dismay at the moment. I was going to kill Sirius when I came home for the summer.

At this point, my friends and cousins were laughing uncontrollably at my obvious embarrassment. Kingsley had completely disappeared under the table, and Cyrus was pounding the table with his fists. Fortunately, another question was asked that changed the subject. "So, the inquiring minds in the House of Ravenclaw having been dying to know how you managed to make a Portkey as a first year student. And the three of us have been hounded all week for the answer," Ranek Patil informed me.

"Yeah, and it's starting to cut into our study time!" Shanti said indignantly. Eric snorted at her comment and muttered something about nerds. Unfortunately for him, Shanti heard his comment and shot a stinging hex at his leg, causing him to jerk his leg and hit his knee on the table. I laughed at his obvious pain. It was karma for sure.

"Well, I had read the spell in a book in the Black library on the history of Wizarding transportation. And it was the first thing I thought of when I heard them breaking down the doors. I was desperate, and I am honestly suprised it worked, considering the distance. I was really lucky that it did," I said, sticking to the story that my Grandfather and I had rehearsed.

"I thought that making an unregistered Portkey was illegal. Wasn't the Ministry upset about that?" the voice of Dolores Umbridge asked, causing Narcissa to scowl at her. It was a stupid question, as the Ministry was more concerned about my survival as the wealthy heir of Arcturus Black then any broken laws of underage magic.

"No, the Minister was just glad that the Heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black survived an assassination attempt. I did hear that an employee in the Department of Magical Transportation tried to fine us, but stopped at the combined request of the Head of Magical Transportation, the Minister of Magic, Lord Black, and Tsar Peter Romanov the Tenth. I believe he was transferred to Magical Maintenance for his disrespectful attitude towards my wellbeing. Maybe he'll be cleaning the floors of the Wizengamot with your father, Dolores," I said with an insincere smile.

There were a few snickers at the Slytherin table as the face of Dolores went white. She undoubtedly received the same subtle insult as the rest of the group within earshot had. "_Messing with the House of Black will be your ruin. I am rich, powerful, and untouchable. Your father currently wipes the mud off my family's shoes in the Wizengamot. You are nothing next to me." _Was it cruel? Undoubtedly. But she was an evil toad that is and will always be a pain to be around, so I didn't feel sorry in the slightest as she got up and stomped off in embarrassment.

I found myself a minor celebrity in Hogwarts for the rest of the year. The seventh year prefects had stood up with the rest of the seventh years and told everyone in Slytherin that I was the best thing to happen to Slytherin House in years, and that anyone who messed with me would have to deal with them. I have no doubt that this was Bellatrix's doing. I have no doubt that she told them to do that or else. And her classmates knew that despite the fact that she was in Russia, she would come for them if they didn't watch out for me. I had at least two or three upperclassmen shadowing me wherever I went. And every time Barnabus McLaggen saw me coming, he turned tail and ran the other direction.

The rest of the year was extremely quiet as a result. Slughorn invited me to his Slug Club, which I accepted the invitation with class. My father hadn't even managed to join until his fifth year, and even Bellatrix hadn't joined until her third year. It was considered an honor in my family. I managed to avoid being pestered with questions by my fellow students thanks to my friends and bodyguards.

Dumbledore didn't call me to his office, although I have no doubt that he is keeping an eye on me considering the loyalty that Slytherin House has shown me. I expect that will change once Lord Voldemort goes public. The House of Slytherin will try to present a united front to the rest of the school, but I have no doubt that it will be divided. My influence will likely have a lot to do with it, whether I like it or not.

The only really notable incident was the fate of our Defense against the Dark Arts Professor. The man had been hired at the beginning of the school year after the retirement of the previous professor that had taught the subject for twenty-three years. He was a top duelist in the professional dueling league after a impressive career as the Chaser for the Falmouth Falcons. He was an excellent teacher, and I was rather hoping that he would survive the curse that I was fairly certain had been placed on the position.

Sadly, he did not. He tripped over the new caretaker Argus Filch's cat, Mr. Norris and somehow managed to fall down all 142 staircases in the castle. I suspect that Voldemort somehow made sure that the first victim would suffer this fate. He seems like the type of guy that would be morbidly fascinated watching some fall down 142 staircases. Needless to say, our Professor was dead for at least the last one hundred or so staircases. He stopped screaming after the first dozen or so from what one of the portraits told me. And somehow, Mr. Norris fell down all those staircases with the Professor and survived with only bruises and a broken leg. How that is possible defies logic, and that is coming from someone that was reincarnated into a world of magic as the Heir of the House of Black.

But besides the tragic demise of our Professor two weeks before the end of the school year, I thoroughly enjoyed my first year at Hogwarts. While my experience at Hogwarts had been much less eventful than I had expected, I was grateful for that. Nearly dying saving a prince and princess over the winter holidays was more than enough excitement for me.

**August 7th, 1970**

The headlines of the Daily Prophet caught my attention as I came down for breakfast. "**Lord Voldemort Declares War on the Ministry of Magic!" "**_It's __official. The tentative peace in the Wizarding World is over. The war had begun," _I thought to myself.

I had been doing some research on an old ritual in the Black family library that would strengthen my body and mind. My muscles, mind, stamina, and reflexes would be increased significantly. I wouldn't be able to preform the ritual properly before I returned to Hogwarts, as there was one thing I needed for it that was extremely hard to get. I was slightly suprised and disappointed that the Blacks didn't have Re'em blood in their storeroom. Fortunately, I knew someone who could get some. I would definitely be able to do the ritual next summer. I definitely didn't want to be defenseless like I was in Russia. Between the ritual and all the magic I have been learning in the Black library, I will have definitely taken a step towards that goal.

**August 17th, 1970**

My father had just finished shopping for the rest of my school supplies in Diagon Alley when my father informed me that he needed to make a business transaction at Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley. "Stay close. There are those stupid enough to try something even with a family as powerful and prestigious as the House of Black down here," my father warned me. Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of doing so. I had a meeting with an old friend that just graduated from Hogwarts, Mundungus Fletcher. He had contacted me yesterday and informed me that he had managed to obtain the Re'em blood I had asked him to get for me.

It was rather easy to sneak away under an old invisibility cloak that I had found in Cygnus's place after he died. We met in an isolated nook in the alley where Mundungus loitered with a cigar in his mouth, smoking away. Mundungus had put up Notice-Me-Not and Silencing Charms up to avoid detection. Since I knew that he was going to be there, the Charm lost some of it's effect. Also, if one wants to have success with that charm, they should avoid smoking. The smell is a bit of a giveaway. While this wasn't an illegal transaction, the Ministry had been trying to keep tabs on him since he had been arrested over the summer. They had been rather baffled that all of his personal records from both his time at Hogwarts and at the Ministry of Magic had disappeared. It was if he had never exsisted in the first place. Fortunately, Dumbledore has gotten him out of trouble using his considerable influence in the Wizengamot.

What Dumbledore didn't realize was that he was being conned by myself and Mundungus, with the help of my grandfather. I had managed to convince my grandfather that Mundungus's skill set would be used to the House of Black. A thief and a black market specialist in both the Muggle and Wizarding World as talented as Mundungus was hard to find, after all. My grandfather agreed, and used a minor amount of political capital to make Mundungus a ghost in both worlds, complete with several fake IDs. Even the arrest of Mundungus had been planned, allowing Mundungus to pretend to be indebted to Dumbledore. We now had an informant in Dumbledore's Order that he was building to combat Voldemort. My grandfather and I both wanted to keep tabs on the old man. And Mundungus was skilled enough in Occlumency to know if Dumbledore was trying to get inside his head.

"Still smoking those awful things, Dung?" I asked him with a smirk, the sound of my voice making him jump as I pulled off my cloak.

"Yes, it helps me deal with the stress of dealing with people like you sneaking up on me," Dung retorted rather irritably. In his defense, he had dropped his cigar when I appeared out of nowhere, and it was his last one.

"Relax, Dung. If you have what I asked for, what I'm paying is enough to buy you cigars for the next couple of decades," I said with an eye roll. I had managed to liberate my Aunt Druella's silverware from her kitchen after she had been imprisoned in Grimmauld Place, along with several other valuables. Arcturus would notice if I spent too much of my trust vault, and I didn't want to have to tell him about all of my activities, even though he probably wouldn't care. It was a solid silver collection, and the set was worth more than what he was getting for me. But it would be all his if he had what I came for and kept silent on my purchase.

"It wasn't easy, but I managed to convince my cousin to part with a few vials for a favor in the future. And knowing my cousin and what he gets up to with his mentor, that's going to cost me," Mundungus told me, scowling slightly as he handed me the vials.

"I didn't know you had a cousin. I was under the impression that you were the last of your family after your parents passed in that attack last summer that the Aurors are still trying to figure out. They seem to think some sort of supernatural demonic being was involved, and are scrambling to try and cover it up," I said, handing him the box of silverware from my trunk and tucking the vials into a mokeskin pouch around my neck. For once, I agreed with the Ministry covering something up. Demons were extremely difficult to control once summoned. The Blacks had a few books on summoning them, despite the ICW banning and destroying any knowledge on them.

The attack on the Fletchers has shocked and terrified the Ministry. The last time a demon had been summoned, Grindelwald had managed to make a deal with it in exchange for his soul. The power he had ryeceived made his power unequalled until his duel with Dumbledore. And my Uncle Charlus has mentioned that he had help from someone that had managed to defeat the demon he had bargained with, which drained the power he had bargained for in a duel before Dumbledore stepped in and took him down. He wouldn't tell me anymore than that except that it was a man wearing a helmet and hadn't been seen since.

"Yeah, my mom had a sister who had a couple of kids before dying in childbirth. The oldest one, Cheryl, got the hell out of the country, wanted nothing to do with magic. Her brother John is rather impressive, despite the fact that he is an utter asshole. Only seventeen and probably knows more about demonology and the arcane magics than all but a few. My parents were killed when they tried to get involved in his business to help him. They knew the risks, so I can't really blame John. My father always cursed the fact that his sister-in-law married the Laughing Magician," Mundungus said, still scowling.

"Wait, your cousin is John Constantine?!" I asked in suprise. I had done some research both in the Hogwarts library and the Black library, as well as a library in the Muggle world after the hat had mentioned the Asgardians. I had been shocked to find some legends of the Laughing Magicians, the Helmet of Fate, and the Lords of Order and Chaos. Legends of a race of warrior women on a hidden island, hidden from mankind by choice. Gotham City exsisted, although Metropolis did not, surprisingly. Thomas and Martha Wayne had been murdered ten years ago, leaving their eight year old son Bruce an orphan. Tales of gods and costumed heroes that had fought in America until they disappeared nearly two decades ago.

Wildcat, S.T.R.I.P.E, Starman, John Zatara, Black Canary, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hourman, Doctor Fate, Citizen Steel, and the Flash had formed the Justice Society of America. Wizarding Britain had ignored their exsistence and heroics over the decade and a half they were active, unsurprisingly. They had either retired and gone underground, been imprisoned, or been killed, as had the colorful gang of villains that had opposed them. The anti-vigilante laws that the federal governments had passed a few years after the end of the Second World War basically gave them the option of joining them or getting put down. Hourman, Citizen Steel, and Doctor Mid-Nite has been killed in the line of duty, and the Canary, Zatara, S.T.R.I.P.E, Starman, Wildcat, the Flash, and Fate had retired and disappeared back into civilian lives.

I had realized that this world was a whole lot bigger than I thought. I just hoped that aliens didn't exsist. I did not want to have to deal with Darksied, the Green Lanterns and all their problems, or the Blue Kryptoniant Boy Scout. Great hero, but one with a lot of power and even more powerful enemies. Metropolis not exsisting made me hopeful on that count. There was enough trouble that was coming from Earth-based threats. Not having to deal with the problems coming from other planets would be really nice.

My train of thought was broken by a snort from Mundungus. "Heard of him, huh? Not surprising, considering some of the things your family is into. John was actually interested in meeting your grandfather once he found out that he was my sponsor. How he found out, I have no idea. Bastard has always had a habit of knowing things he shouldn't. This pure silver, mate?" Mundungus asked, grinning at the sight of the silverware.

"Yeah, it was my Aunt Druella's. Liberated some valuables from their manor after they kicked it. Figured they didn't need their shiny valuables in hell," I responded with a devious grin.

Mundungus let out a bark of laughter. "Knew there was a reason I liked you, kid. Steals from his dead relatives and convinces his grandfather to sponsor my work. I suppose that I will have to refrain from stealing from such an outstanding citizen," Mundungus said with a grin.

"You keep remembering that and you'll never run out of work. And tell the Laughing Magician I would be interested in meeting him next summer," I responded.

"Can't guarantee he'll be able to make contact anytime soon considering he's abroad at the moment, but I'll pass the word along. Always a pleasure doing business with you, Krios," Mundungus said, giving me a handshake and a slight bow before vanishing into the alley. I managed to make my way back to Borgin and Burke's before my father had noticed I was gone. Not that it was a difficult task, as Orion Black had never been the attentive and loving father type. Which made me look forward to my second year at Hogwarts even more.

**AN: Yeah, even without Walburga around, Orion is not going to be winning any Father of the Year awards. He still a bigoted asshole, among other things. Mundungus Fletcher will play a big role in this story, and will be a lot smarter and talented than in canon. And Constantine gets name-dropped!! There will be a DC crossover element to this, but there will be no visitors from another planet. Earth is alone in the universe in my story. No Krypton, Martians, New Gods, Green Lanterns, etc. The Olympian and Asgardian Gods are in a separate dimension that is only reachable from certain points on Earth in certain circumstances by certain people. Not outer space, so they don't count lol. They, along with all of the other American based meta human and vigilante superheroes, will not appear in this story, which covers the rise and fall of Voldemort. That's for a planned sequel. Until then, only magic-based characters from the DC universe will appear. John Constantine, John Zatara, and Zatanna are the only ones I have planned on using so far. Also, I have published a list of current and planned stories on my profile page so I can keep track of my ideas. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy. **


	4. Honor and Quidditch

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or any other characters you recognize **

A few days, before leaving for Hogwarts, my grandfather summoned me to his office. When I arrived, I noticed my mother's House Elf, Kreacher, standing in the corner. "Krios, I regret to inform you that your mother and Aunt Druella are now officially dead as well as legally. They were trying to brew a rather dangerous potion to escape, and it exploded, killing them both. The House Elves managed to prevent the destruction of the house, and are busy putting it back together," Arcturus informed me in a tone that suggested he was not at all upset about their deaths. In fairness, I couldn't get myself to feel bad about it either. They had been dead to me for quite some time now.

"Could I have Kreacher as my House Elf, Lord Black? He was extremely loyal to my mother, and I could find a use for him," I asked him innocently, pretending to desire him as something to remember the good in my mother by. Which was complete rubbish, there was nothing good about that woman and I was not at all sad that she was dead.

"I suppose. I was going to behead him for failing in his task, but if you want him, take him," Arcturus said with a wave of his hand. He did look rather disappointed at what he believed was my sentimental request, though. I took this as his dismissal, and I left his office with Kreacher following behind me. Once I reached my room, I called for my other personal House Elf, Gremlin.

"Gremlin, get Kreacher up to speed on my plans. Between the two of you, you should be able to finish getting the ritual and potion ready by the end of next week. Inform him of my contingency plans as well. And move the ritual location to the Grimmauld Place dungeons. With my mother and aunt gone, it's even more secure than Uncle Cygnus's old place. Kreacher, I know that you will serve me to the best of your ability. I will make sure you are treated well. Listen to Gremlin's instructions until I summon you, as they came from me," I ordered my two loyal House Elves.

"Yes, Master Krios," the two House Elves said in unison, before disappearing with a pop. I had thought of asking for Gremlin's help a few days ago, as he could do everything but perform the ritual for me. Only a wizard could do that. I should be able to perform it over the winter holidays when I came home. I had a good plan as to how I would convince everyone that it was a complete coincidence that I was bigger, stronger, and faster than before.

Upon boarding the Hogwarts Express, I immediately claimed the empty compartment that I had sat in last year. It wasn't long before I was joined by my fellow Slytherin yearmates and friends Eric Potter, Cyrus Greengrass. Adrianne Shafiq, Hadrian Pucey, Ramona Turpin, and Samantha Smith. It wasn't long before the topic of conversation turned towards Voldemort's latest exploits.

"The Daily Prophet said that a Muggle family in Birmingham was slaughtered last night by the Death Eaters. The Dark Mark was over the house and everything," Samantha said sadly. She was one of those people that wouldn't hurt anyone unless she had no other choice. One of the kindest people in Hogwarts, and definitely the kindest person in Slytherin. I strongly suspected that she would have ended up in Hufflepuff if it weren't for the fact that she was extremely cunning and had a very ambitious plan to start her own fashion line that would "bring the Wizarding World into the 20th century." Adrianne and I both suspect she is possibly a Muggle-Born, seeing as how she was seemingly in complete awe of the fact she was a witch. Her mother was a Muggle, and Samantha was cunning enough to realize the benefits of claiming relations to the extensive House of Smith through her deceased father, especially after being Sorted into Slytherin. There was so many Smiths in the Wizarding World that no one saw the point in contesting her lineage. They and the Weasleys breed like gnomes.

"My father said that the Minister isn't taking the new Dark Lord seriously. Apparently someone managed to convince her to veto the motion to give the DLME and the Aurors the authority to use what ever means necessary to take him and his Death Eaters down," Cyrus said.

"Yeah, my dad was pretty irate when he was told that, and so was his boss," Eric said. Charlus Potter was the Head of the Auror Office, a position he has held for seventeen years. His boss, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Harold Minchum, had held his position for eighteen years. They were close friends and had similar philosophies on terrorists like Voldemort. To never negotiate and to take them down hard and fast. But Dumbledore had gotten laws passed shortly after his defeat of Grindelwald that crippled their ability to fight someone like Voldemort. My grandfather had managed to stop most of them, but the DLME still needed special permission from both the Minister and the Head of the DLME to intentionally aim to kill criminals. And trying to stop someone that's trying to kill you while trying not to kill them is a bit of a handicap in a fight, especially when they enjoy killing as much as Voldemort and his minions do.

"Minister Jenkins has always been a bit of a pacifist, if you ask me. She's the type that prefers diplomacy and compromises over a fight. Grandfather says that it's probably why her and Dumbledore get along so well," I said with a slight grimace.

"Yeah, father has always wondered why people still think Dumbledore is omnipotent when he's actually become impotent in his old age," Hadrian said.

It was the misfortune of Cyrus to be swallowing a Cockroach Cluster when Hadrian made his comment, causing him to begin choking. Hadrian had always had a problem with mixing words up. But this was definitely the first time that he had slipped this badly. Fortunately, Adrianne recovered quickly enough to clear his throat with a spell. Eric and I were still laughing hysterically, while the girls' faces were beet red. Hadrian merely looked confused, as he had no idea what he had just said.

"I think you mean incompetent, Hadrian," Samantha said kindly.

"Well, he's probably right either way. At his age, he probably has some performance issues. Maybe we should ask- Ouch!!" Eric's commentary had been interrupted by a Stinging Hex from a rather irritated looking Adrianne, who then glared at me and Cyrus, as we were still laughing hysterically. Fortunately for us, we had arrived at Hogwarts, so any planned hexing was hopefully canceled.

The Sorting was largely uneventful, although there were a few names I took note of. Frank Longbottom was Sorted into Gryffindor, as expected. Benjy Fenwick was sorted into Hufflepuff. The twins Amycus and Alecto Carrow were sorted into Slytherin. And two new fifth year students had transferred from Durmstrang to Hogwarts. Igor Karakoff and Boris Poliakoff had both been Sorted into Slytherin, where they joined Rabastan Lestrange at the Slytherin table. Rabastan had returned to Hogwarts, and was sitting with his friends and yearmates Evan Rosier and Horatio Wilkes, along with his new friends from Durmstrang. Apparently, his father had deemed it safe for him to return now that both his brother Rodolphus and Bellatrix had finished their schooling. Which was correct, although he would do well to avoid Andromeda and Narcissa as best he could.

As we arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, we were all interested in what the new teacher was going to be like. Professor Travis Kipling was a ICW Hit Wizard in his forties that had graduated from Hogwarts in 1945 with, among others, Tom Riddle. They had apparently been bitter enemies in their school years, which made the fact that he was still alive rather impressive, considering the nature of Riddle even as a student. Between that and the fact that he was second in his year in every subject behind Tom Riddle made me believe that there was more to this Gryffindor than there appeared. Riddle was not the type to let his rivals live if he could help it. Especially one that hunted down Dark Wizards internationally for a living.

I had just taken my seat in the desk between Eric and Cyrus when Professor Kipling entered the room. There were gasps as he walked in, and rightfully so. The entire left side of his face was covered in burns, with dead skin and raw flesh exposed. He had a magical eye replacement like Mad-Eye Moody had in the films, and it was looking around the classroom warily. I had no doubt that there were several other scars covering his body. He must have used glamours to cover them at the feast. If I hadn't been expecting it thanks to some upper-year Slytherins, I would have been a lot more horrified. Although their descriptions didn't do the damage justice. A Gryffindor girl actually vomited on the other side of the classroom. Professor Kipling put his glamour back up, making him look rather normal. The only striking feature was the electric green eyes that stared back at the class, one of which moved unnaturally.

"And that is what happens when you come face to face with a powerful witch or wizard wielding the Dark Arts. I have faced some of the worst the Dark Arts has to offer. I've faced a witch trying to overthrow the government in Jamaica with an army of zombies raised by dark magic. I've faced some followers of Grindelwald trying to resurrect his ideals behind one of his former lieutenants in Bulgaria. And I have faced Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The world is a dangerous place, and my job is to help prepare you for it, and I only have a year to do it, and probably less than that," Professor Kipling said gruffly.

"You aren't staying?" Gideon Prewett asked in suprise.

"You're Prewett, right? Not gonna bother asking which one, if you're anything like your father and uncle, I'm not going get a straight answer. I spent most of my time as prefect trying to keep an eye on those two rascals. Yeah, I am here as favor to Dumbledore. My house in Britain was destroyed years ago by Dark Wizards, so in exchange for a room I'll be teaching when I'm not out working for the ICW. My intern is more than capable of teaching you while I'm gone," Professor Kipling said, pointing to his office where the intern was undoubtedly writing up reports for the ICW.

"Did the Dark Lord give you those burns?" Warrington asked, abandoning any sort of subtlety in the process. I looked at the teacher to see how he reacted. The look of raw anger that the Professor shot at Warrington caused him to recoil in fear. I barely managed to refrain from wincing.

"No, he didn't. The last time I fought him was in 1945, when we were students here, much like you are. He's always been an evil git, scrapping for every bit of power he could grab. And he has never cared about anything but power, not even the bodies that he left behind in the process," Professor Kipling ground out angrily. It was clear that the man absolutely loathed Voldemort. Every student in the classroom decided right then that it was in their best interest to never ask Professor Kipling what happened in that duel or about Voldemort as a student. There was clearly bad blood between them.

"Now, if you will open your textbooks to the first chapter, I will teach you how to repel a yeti without getting eaten. Personally, I've always found that setting them on fire works best," Professor said, grinning savagely, sending a slight shiver down my spine. We all opened our textbooks as he began to lecture on the nature of yetis, and how our best bet to avoid them was to stay out of Tibet. I left the classroom with the feeling that he didn't like Slytherin House very much, and that he was watching me rather closely. I noticed he had glared at me when he thought I wasn't looking.

Quidditch tryouts were on Saturday, and Eric and I intended to make the team. He was trying out for Chaser, and I was trying out for Seeker. The Captain and Keeper was sixth year Steve Laughalot. Both Beater positions had been filled last year by Crabbe and Goyle, so no one would be trying out for Beater. They were both good Beaters, despite their tendency to play dirty, and no one wanted to upset the two massive fourth years by insisting on trying out. Someone would probably tell them that they should feel offended by it, and that would not end well for anyone involved.

The Seeker and one of the three Chasers had graduated last year. One of the returning Chasers was a seventh year, Derron Flint. His older brother had been the Chaser that had graduated last year. The other returning Chaser was none other than Lucius's older sister, sixth year Lucretia Malfoy. Hearing she exsisted and then meeting her as a child had been a bit of a shock, considering I didn't think she would be a halfway decent person, which she was. Apparently her father had very little to do with her upbringing, preferring to spend time grooming Lucius as the Heir of the Ancient House of Malfoy.

So, Lucretia had been brought up mainly by her mother, Penelope Malfoy née Fawley. The few times that I had spoken to the Lady Malfoy, she had reminded me of Professor McGonagall. Strict, but fair. She wouldn't take any bullshit from anyone, and I got the impression that she didn't completely disagree with my Grandfather's view on blood purity. An opportunity to make more money and that we purebloods should control them and their ideas with our wealth and political influence in the Wizengamot to keep them from changing the Wizarding World too much. I know Lucretia agrees with me, despite her father Abraxas backing the Dark Lord. He was not a Marked, according to our sources, but was an old school friend of Tom Riddle. Plus, there was a political advantage for him to remain unmarked. The legally binding marriage contract between Lucius and Narcissa was proof of that.

"Alright, if you're trying out for Chaser, please stand over here," Laughalot yelled, getting the attention of the fifteen or so students that were trying out. All but two students moved over to try out for Chaser, with myself and Lucius Malfoy being the lone exceptions. We gave each other a curt nod upon seeing this. Had we been facing anyone else, the spot would have been ours automatically, thanks to the inner workings of Slytherin politics. And having seen Lucius fly, he would have definitely been a good enough Seeker for Laughalot to be able to defend his decision. But both of our families were extremely well-connected, making this one of the few skill-based tryouts in Slytherin House history.

Eric Potter quickly claimed the third Chaser spot, something that didn't suprise me in the slightest. Not only was his father the Head of the Auror Office, he was actually a pretty good flier and had the skills. I've watched him fly several times at home, and he's only gotten better since. He scored the most goals on Laughalot as well, making Laughalot's decision an even easier one. Now, it was my turn to do something that I have always wanted to do: Show up and beat Lucius Malfoy.

**Lucretia Malfoy POV**

I had been dreading this moment since the beginning of summer, when my obnoxious little brother had declared that he would be the Slytherin Seeker this year now that Samuel Higgs had graduated. He had always complained about the fact that Steve had chosen to keep his less talented friend and teammate Higgs on the team when he believed that he could do better and help them do something Slytherin House hadn't done in seven years: win the Quidditch Cup. He was always rather delusional, if you ask me. Personally, I blame Abraxas. Being told no more often would do Lucius a world of good.

I had resigned myself to the idea of having Lucius on the team. He and his bookends Crabbe and Goyle would make sure no one else would even tryout for Seeker. No one in the upper years had the interest or the bollocks to go against Lucius Malfoy. Thankfully, they hadn't bothered in trying to intimidate Krios Black. Considering the twelve year old Heir to the House of Black had literally stared death in the face rescuing a Prince and Princess of all people, I highly doubt it would have worked if they had tried.

What Krios had done was something out of a children's storybook, almost too fantastic to believe. While I doubted that he had actually created the Portkey himself, there was no doubt that he was going to be a powerful wizard and was already a real hero. And he was turning into a rather handsome young man. She knew for a fact that at least one of her roommates was planning to jump down his pants once he turned thirteen. However, she had stupidly said it in front of Andromeda Black, which led to a hexing that landed her in the hospital wing for three days. Bellatrix may have been the most hot-tempered and magically powerful of the three sisters, but Narcissa and Andromeda were both talented and extremely overprotective of Krios Black, as Bellatrix had been last year. And they got away with it more often, too.

Lucius was up first. My heart sank as he caught the snitch in less than nine minutes. I knew he was good, but I had sincerely hoped he would choke under the pressure of having to compete against Krios Black. The only way that Lucius wouldn't be selected now was if Krios caught it quicker than he did.

**Lucius POV**

I was feeling pretty confident that I had won the Seeker position when Krios Black mounted his broom. A few minutes later however, I was much less confident as Krios caught the snitch and began to descend to his ground of the pitch to applause. I didn't think that he had done it quicker than I had, but I knew it was close. I saw the Captain, Steve Laughalot, stare at his watch in shock for a moment before shaking his head and walk over towards where Krios and I stood.

"Well, gentlemen, you have achieved something that has only happened twice in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch tryouts, and never before in the history of Slytherin Quidditch. There has been a tie, as you both caught the Snich in eight minutes and twenty-four seconds. So, it looks like the two of you will have to face off in a tiebreaker. Both of you will try to catch the Snitch once I release it. The one who catches it, will be the Seeker. The loser will definitely be on the reserve team, though," Laughalot said with a grin.

There was a moment of shocked silence at this announcement. It was Flint that broke it. "How in the name of Morgana's wooden dildo did you know how many times there has been a tie at tryouts for the Seekers at Hogwarts," Flint asked in disbelief and in his usual crude manner. Sometimes I wonder if he has troll blood considering how terrible his manners are. His older brother wasn't much better, unfortunately. Although, considering their parents, it really wasn't much of a suprise. My mother did mention once that Merula Flint, Druella Black, and Walburga Black were friends for a reason, and it had a lot to do with their "charming personalities." Even Crabbe and Goyle had caught the sarcasm when she said that.

Before Steve could respond, Krios spoke. "What's a dildo?" he asked, sounding like an innocent child asking for sweets. I wasn't sure if Krios was serious or not, but I couldn't help but groan at the idea that Flint's language had potentially destroyed the innocence of another kid. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled like the buffoons they were, and my sister and Steve were glaring at a slightly pale Flint. Making matters worse was that Eric Potter looked like he didn't know what a dildo was either. "_Damn__ it Flint, look what you've done," _I thought to myself.

Fortunately, Laughalot recovered quickly. "We'll have someone explain it to you once the tryout is over. Better get ready, cause I'm going to release the Snitch," he said with a nervous grin. Which he did just as we hurried and mounted our brooms, the bastard.

It was several minutes before we spotted the Snitch. The little bugger was climbing high up into the sky. The wind started blowing rather hard as we chased after it. We both accelerated, neck and neck with each other about fifty or sixty feet above the ground. But Krios was pulling ahead, and I knew he would win if I didn't do something. I desperately jerked my broom hard to the right, intending to knock him off course. If he happened to get knocked off his broom, I could just say it was an accident. No one could tell what really happened. We are too far up for them to see us clearly. The only thing outcome that was unacceptable was Krios Black catching the Snitch.

However, I was too late. Krios had caught the Snitch. And not only that, he had decelerated his ascension afterwards, and because of that I completely missed him with my body slam. I attempted to pull my wand to curse him with a powerful Severing Charm from our family grimiore in my anger, but my momentum carried me off my broom and my spell missed completely. I then plummeted to my likely death, screaming in terror.

**Krios POV**

I had caught the Snitch! Victory was mine! As I decelerated my ascent, I turned to gloat over my victory to Lucius. Only to discover that he was currently falling towards his death. While I had no problem with Lucius dying, it would look bad if I didn't at least try and save him. And no since the strong winds had taken the Snitch off course, we were far enough away from the pitch that would ensure that no one else would reach him in time. So, I went into a rapid dive, and pulled my wand out of my holster. _"Arresto Momentum!" _I said, managing to slow Lucius's rapid descent, which allowed me to catch him.

Unfortunately, the spell doesn't negate the power of gravity. I felt both of my shoulders pop out of place and the tearing of muscles in my upper body as we hovered a few feet above the ground. I screamed in pain, before collapsing to the ground and passing out from the pain.

**Lucretia POV**

I had never been more angry than Lucius than I was right now. Thanks to a pair of magical binoculars that Steve had bought over the summer, both Steve and I had seen exactly what Lucius had tried to do. He could have killed Krios, and looked like he tried to with the spell he cast. He was extremely lucky that he missed and that Krios hadn't noticed and had been able to save him. The fact that he had nearly ripped both of arms off in doing so made the act even more impressive. Lucius would have died if he hadn't. Although he might wish he had if Arcturus found out. I immediately called our house elf and told her to inform their father of Lucius's actions and how Lucius now owed Krios Black a life debt. He was not going to be happy with Lucius.

As pissed as I was at my brother, I am extremely grateful that he was alive. I may not get along with him most of the time, but he is family. I would have to thank Krios when Madam Pomfrey put him back together. Arcturus Black would probably want to take him home for a day or two as well. I hoped I could get Steve alone and buy his silence before he arrived. If he told Arcturus, things would get ugly for the House of Malfoy. Even Dumbledore was wary of Arcturus Black. I sighed, and followed my shocked and uninjured brother to the Hospital Wing where Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, and Steve had taken him.

**Krios POV**

When I came to and gathered my wits, I quickly realized two things. One, I was in the Hospital Wing. And two, that my muscles were quite a bit bigger than they were before, and that I was pretty sure my feet didn't stretch that far on the bed last I had checked. I grinned internally. "_Kreacher and Gremlin followed my contingency plan then. The ritual and the potion worked perfectly. Now I can just say I remember waking up briefly and casting something before passing out again. A side effect from combining Black family magic with healing potions will be their natural conclusion," _I thought gleefully to myself. I then frowned. How did those elves pull off the ritual? It wouldn't work without a wizard. And no adult wizard would dare allow me to undergo a Dark ritual like this. And only a Black could use one of the spells needed for the ritual.

It took a few moments before the answer dawned on me. "_Those brilliant elves. They probably got Regulus to do it by telling him that it would he heal me. Regulus and Kreacher have always been rather close. And the instructions were rather clear. And Regulus must've used my wand to pull it off. It'll be easy to convince him to keep quiet. Merlin, I am going to have to get all three of them something nice for Christmas," _I thought to myself in amazement. It was then that Madam Pomfrey made her appearance, followed by my grandfather and, to my slight suprise, Abraxas Malfoy.

Madam Pomfrey cast some diagnostic charms on me, before asking me if I had any idea how I had gotten like this. I admitted remembering grabbing my wand and casting something in the middle of the night after the pain potions wore off. I told her that I had no idea what the spell was, and that I was pretty out of it. Madam Pomfrey turned to my grandfather.

"Any ideas on what spell he used?" Madam Pomfrey asked him.

"It has been a while since I have looked through the family grimiore. Dorea is going to have a fit, though. She has been complaining for ages about me allowing you access to the family grimiores when you turned eleven. I am not looking forward to explaining this to her," my grandfather said with a grimace.

Madam Pomfrey clearly agreed with Dorea judging by the disapproving look on her face, and likely had no sympathy for his plight. Although she did admit that there seemed to be no adverse side effects, and that he was cleared to leave in an hour. She then left the three of us to what she clearly recognized as pureblood politics. She always had a knack of knowing when she was needed or not. As she left, Lucretia and Lucius Malfoy entered the hospital wing. Lucius looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him whole when he saw his father. All of us could tell that he was in deep shit, especially if you considered the angry glares that both Lord Black and Lord Malfoy were giving him when he walked in. Although I had no idea why that was the case. "_What in the hell did I miss, and why does Lucius look like he's going to piss himself?" _I thought to myself.

"I am glad to see you have recovered. I would like to apologize for the actions of my heir and acknowledge the outstanding life debt the House of Malfoy now owes you for ensuring its' continuation," Abraxas said smoothly, shooting a heated glare at Lucius. While I was still confused on that point, there was no way I was going to pass up on having the Malfoys in my debt.

"I acknowledge the debt, Lord Malfoy. Although, I am not sure why you are apologizing for Lucius right now. He fell of his broom, it's not like he tried to kill me or anything," I said with a slight grin. It was then I saw Lucius's face pale even more, and Abraxas grimace slightly. The grin slid off my face, and gave way to a surge of anger and disbelief. "_It appears that I have underestimated Lucius's capabilities," _I thought angrily to myself. Well, that wasn't going to happen again.

"I did tell you that there was no way my heir was foolish enough to save the life of someone who tried to knock him off his broom sixty feet in the air and curse him in attempt to cut him open. He is a true Slytherin and a Black, not some numpty Gryffindor," Arcturus said, shooting me a look that told me to continue that trend. And that as furious as I was, I had to think about how to respond before acting rashly. As I took a deep breath and used my Occlumency to gather my emotions, we were joined by two others, both of whom I had expected to have been here earlier.

"Gryffindors are many things, Lord Black, but I do not think numpty is one of them,"Albus Dumbledore said lightly as he strode into the Hospital Wing, followed a moment later by my father. And boy, was he angry. I knew he had been stewing over what he perceived to be the injustices in his life, muttering to himself in the darkened corners of Black Manor. He had been enraged when he had found out that Walburga had used the Cruciatus Curse to punish us, and equally so when he had been forced to abandon her. He had not been pleased to be back under his father's thumb, especially now that he had declared neutrality in the coming struggle.

He was even more enraged that Arcturus seemed to put less of an emphasis on the purity of blood. He thought that Mugglborns were better off exterminated, not controlled though education and the laws of the Ministry and Wizengamot. While he agreed that political power and wealth were important, he did not think that blood purity should take a back seat. He believed that Muggleborns had no place in our society, especially in the Ministry associating with their betters. He had been furious that Arcturus had been allowing them to have a chance to have role in society, albeit one where they would always know that the rich purebloods were in charge and always would be.

He had been berated for not protecting Arcturus after drawing his wand in defense of his father when Cygnus had been revealed as a Death Eater and drew his wand to attack them. If Orion had actually cast a spell to protect him, the House Elf that had taken a curse for Arcturus would still be alive. He had stewed for months after that event. And it appeared that all that had finally gotten to him, and he finally had found a target for his anger that wouldn't end with Arcturus killing him. Lucius Malfoy.

Fortunately, I had spotted him pulling his wand, something not even Dumbledore had noticed. "Father, I understand that you are angry, but cursing Lucius right now will destroy an opportunity for the House of Black. The House of Malfoy owes me a life debt, and it will be difficult for me to make an example of him if he is in pieces," I told him calmly. As I spoke, both Abraxas and Dumbledore pulled their wands quicker than I thought possible and pointed them at Orion Black. His arm wavered, and his wand was returned to his holster.

"Fine. I suppose that you deserve to be the one that decides that. Make the bastard suffer," Orion snarled. He didn't even wait for a response before turning around and stomping out of the Hospital Wing. "_Well, that's one problem taken care of. Now to make sure our esteemed Headmaster doesn't interfere with business that doesn't concern him," _I thought to myself.

"Well, looks like my father's anger has finally bubbled over. You probably should follow him, Headmaster. I fear for any student that should cross his path right now," I told Dumbledore, making sure to lace my voice with concern.

Dumbledore paled slightly at the thought, before fixing me with a look. It was obvious that he knew exactly what I was doing, and was playing on the fact that neglecting my warning in front of two school governors would be a huge hit to his reputation and influence by the time they were through with him. And judging by the impressed looks Abraxas and my grandfather were giving me, they knew it too. There was pride in my grandfather's face, something was extremely rare and that always gave me a warm, happy feeling inside.

"I trust that there will be no further attempts at violence?" Dumbledore asked coolly, in a tone that suggested that he would be extremely unhappy if there was and that there would be consequences. He was assured by both Lord Black and Lord Malfoy promising that there would not be. He then turned and quickly set off after Orion with rather impressive speed for a man his age.

"We should probably make this conversation a little more private. I wouldn't put it past the old meddlesome goat to have some sort of eavesdropping charm in here or something," I told my grandfather and Lord Malfoy. My comment caused something to happen that I didn't think was possible. My grandfather breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. It was honestly terrifying, as I had never seen my grandfather laugh like that before. And judging by the shocked and unnerved faces of the three Malfoys, they felt the same way.

"Ah, the wisdom of youth. It is clear that you have taught your heir well, Lord Black. The House of Black will be in good hands if he continues to use his cleverness to benefit his House," Abraxas said, recovering smoothly with a patronizing smile, while simultaneously pulling his wand and casting silencing and anti-eavesdropping charms on the area.

"Indeed. I would expect nothing less from the Heir of my House. And I know you expect the same of yours, so I believe we should determine the consequences for him forgetting his place and his role as your Heir. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Laughalot for informing me. I believe that this act leaves me no choice but to recommend to my heir to challenge yours to a traditional honor duel, and take your daughter as his legally-bound concubine after killing him to settle the life debt," Arcturus said, no longer laughing or smiling. Instead, he was glaring angrily at Lucius. All three Malfoy's paled, something that I didn't think was possible with their skin tone.

I had to admit, I was extremely tempted. It was well within my rights as Heir Black to demand such a thing. Traditional honor duels were only allowed for attempts on the life of the Heir or Lord of the old and rich pureblood lines for a reason. In the case of House Malfoy, they only had one male heir. If I killed him in an honor duel, and took Lucretia as my concubine, everything the Malfoys owned would become mine as the new Heir of the House of Malfoy once Arcturus died. That's why they had been outlawed in the 17th century, and not very many people knew that the exception still exsisted. The Ministry had done a very good job of burying it. The Houses of Black and Malfoy were two of the very few Houses that made a point to record and remember it. And with a witness to prove Lucius's guilt, no one in the Ministry or Wizengamot could stop us from demanding one. Especially once they found the record of the law in the bowels of the Ministry that told them the exception exsisted.

It would solve the problem of the stupid contract that stuck Narcissa with Lucius. While Arcturus could and likely would just cancel the contract under the circumstances, it would be nice to make sure Lucius would never be able to marry her and breed another blond prat into the world with anyone. And Lucius was the type that would try to find a way to eliminate me so that he was no longer in my debt. He had a superiority complex that wouldn't allow him to be indebted to a second year, Heir of Black or not. While I somewhat doubted that he was intentionally trying to kill me, his temper tantrum upon losing was a direct attempt on my life. And eliminating Lucius and destroying the House of Malfoy would be more beneficial for me in the long run. Depriving Voldemort a supporter and the Malfoy fortune appealed to me as well.

"I think that would be a wise course of action. The House of Black cannot have our enemies think they can attack us and not suffer the consequences. An example must be made," I said with a serious expression. Even if I had disagreed with the idea, that had been an order by Lord Black disguised as a recommendation. Being his heir and a "seer" that was helping make the House of Black more wealthier and powerful than it has ever been would not stop Arcturus from showing his displeasure if I defied him.

"I agree. I already have contacted Charlus Potter. The Aurors should have concluded their interview with Mr. Laughalot by now. I suspect that they will be here to arrest Heir Malfoy momentarily. I will make sure to inform him of your desire to call an honor duel. I suspect that the Wizengamot won't want to delay this matter for long, so I would be ready to go in no more than two weeks. I expect that you will not let me down," Arcturus said, fixing me with a look that had an "or else" attached to it.

I merely nodded my agreement, as the Aurors had chosen that moment to arrest Lucius and confiscate his wand. They led him away with his father and sister following behind them. My grandfather followed them, likely trying to make sure that Abraxas didn't try to bribe the Aurors to allow Lucius to escape. I suspected that both Lucius and Lucretia would not be returning to Hogwarts until after the trial was over. I had no doubt that the entire school knew what had happened by now. The next couple of weeks were going to be interesting. Looks like I was going to have to deal with even more attention than I thought I would. My magical growth spurt wasn't going to be the only thing I had to answer questions about now. I sincerely hoped that my grandfather wouldn't leave me here when I could be training at home instead.

Fortunately, that was indeed my grandfather's intentions. I soon found myself wishing by the next day that wasn't the case. For my grandfather and father put me through grueling training sessions. While learning some extremely useful spells that I wouldn't have been able to perfect on my own until they were taught at Hogwarts, my grandfather and the tutors he paid to train me were strict taskmasters. But it would be worth it. My grandfather taught me some handy Black family spells, including a variation of the Disarming Charm that would shatter the target's shoulder and elbow while taking their wand from them. I am planning on using that one if I get the chance.

With the help of the old Spanish Auror that was a childhood friend of my grandfather's that was brought in to train me, I ended up perfected the Stunning Spell and the Reductor Curse, among other hexes and jinxes that could be used effectively in a duel over the next two weeks. I now knew how to perform spells that I knew even some of the sixth and seventh years struggled with, despite the fact that they were taught at Hogwarts by fifth year. The old man knew his stuff, and I learned a ton from him and heard a ton of interesting stories. Most of them were stories from the one month every summer that they spent at the Black Cottage in Seville, Spain as neighbors and friends in their childhood. It was hard for me to imagine my grandfather as the carefree child the old Spaniard described.

My training helped that I only needed help with the theory and wand movement portions, as I was fairly quick to pick it up and applying it practically. My knowledge of what the spells did helped me, as intent and power was a large portion of what made a spell effective. And I fortunately had plenty of both power and will to make the spell do what I wanted it to do. I am starting to wonder if my stubbornness and strong willpower from my past life was combined with the same traits that the Blacks were notorious for. The idea would explain a lot about myself, as I noticed that my magical and physical stamina was even stronger than what the ritual had said it would give me. I was recovering far more quickly from my training than I thought I would.

Whatever the case, this ritual was going to be a huge help in the upcoming duel. My processing and reaction speed was far quicker as well as my stamina, physical strength, and my spell casting speed. I had never felt so energized and strong. It was a truly incredible feeling, and I made sure to give Kreacher and Gremlin a day off while I was training. They seemed to appreciate the gesture, judging by the tears and grateful groveling.

My other tutor was Charlus Potter, who was able to make a little time out of his job to help. The Ministry was being kept unaware of this, as they would not be pleased with the Head of the Auror Department interfering in an upcoming honor duel between the heirs of two influential families. He stared teaching me the art of deflecting unfriendly spells with both Shield Charms and countercurses. While I wasn't sure I was that good at either by the end of the two weeks, I was fairly confident I was good enough to handle whatever Lucius could throw at me.

The day before the trial, Sirius and Regulus burst into my room. They had been staying with Aunt Dorea, as my grandfather and father wanted me to focus on my training and felt they would be a distraction. But Aunt Dorea had convinced them after a long argument that they should be allowed to see me before the trial. Apparently, my grandfather believed that there was no way I would lose, so there was no point in allowing them to visit me and wish me luck. While I appreciated my grandfather's confidence and agreed that I wouldn't lose, I knew that Sirius and Regulus would never forgive them if I died and they hadn't been allowed to see me. I suspected that Sirius wouldn't be the only one that ended up in Gryffindor if that happened.

I found myself sandwiched between my two brothers. They both had tears in their eyes. "Hey, it's going to be alright. I am going to be fine," I told them, patting them both on the back.

"You better. And make sure to teach the Malfoys a lesson they'll never forget. Make them pay for what they did to you. I'll never forget seeing you hurt like that," Sirius said viciously. Regulus nodded beside him, and I realized that both my brothers had assisted Kreacher and Gremlin with the ritual. A feeling of pride swelled up in me. Knowing that my brothers had my back was a good feeling. They both assured me that they hadn't told anyone about the ritual, and swore that they never would. And I found myself believing them, and didn't even consider making them swear an Unbreakable Vow. I knew that I could trust them.

It was nice knowing that Sirius didn't hate everyone in his family this time around. Although I was pretty sure he hated Bellatrix and our father still. And he barely respected and listened to our grandfather, so I was pretty sure he didn't like him much either. He spent a lot of time grounded to his room for that reason. He barely tolerated Narcissa as well. He and Andromeda got along well enough, though. And without my late and unlamented mother's influence, Sirius and Regulus were extremely close. They were almost inseparable, something I sincerely hoped didn't change if Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor. I knew for a fact Regulus would be following me into Slytherin, there was no way he would end up anywhere else.

As I made my way down to breakfast, I was stunned by the headlines of the Daily Prophet. Abraxas Malfoy had been killed. Apparently, he and two hired mercenaries had attacked Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea's house dressed like Death Eaters. I was now extremely grateful to my Aunt for convincing my grandfather to allow my brothers to return home, as they had been the targets of the attack. Apparently one of the mercs had been captured alive, and had confessed to being hired by Abraxas to kill Dorea Potter and capture my brothers as hostages. Abraxas had figured that he could get my grandfather and the Ministry to release Lucius from the Ministry's secure holding cells and call off the honor duel in exchange for my brother's lives. Apparently, he wasn't very confident in Lucius's dueling abilities.

Charlus Potter had been in the office dealing with another Death Eater attack on a family of Muggles in Cornwall. Something that Abraxas had been well aware of being a Death Eater, and had figured that he wouldn't have much trouble disposing of a middle-aged housewife and part-time Healer and kidnapping a couple of kids. He had badly miscalculated. Not only were my brothers safe behind the wards of Black Manor, Aunt Dorea was an extremely formidable witch and had taken all three of them down before they made through her bedroom door. She was a Black before she was a Potter, and often dueled and trained with her husband to keep her skills sharp. Charlus would never admit it, but she usually won.

I couldn't help but laugh. Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter had made sure to report in her article that Abraxas Malfoy had been killed by a woman that was getting ready to go to bed for the night in her frilly white nightgown, when he and his hired thugs had broken in. She had killed one merc with a Piercing Curse to the head, before stunning the other. Then she stunned Abraxas as he attempted to flee, causing him to fall down the stairs and break his neck. It was a rather pathetic way to go, especially for someone as rich and arrogant as Abraxas had been. There was a picture of my aunt in her nightgown and everything.

And to top it off, Rita had written a corresponding article on the upcoming honor duel. A surprisingly accurate account of what had happened at Hogwarts was told, detailing how I had saved Lucius's life despite the two attempts he had made on my life. She did mention that I had been unaware of that, though, thanks to high winds and being focused on catching the Snitch. She proceeded to explain the exception that exsisted on the ban of honor duels, making sure that it was clear that it was well within my rights to demand one. She also pointed out that Lucius could have refused and just faced a trial instead of banking on an honor duel to secure his release. She seemed to be going out of her way to make sure that I looked like the good guy in all this. Probably because the Blacks owned forty-five percent of the Prophet. Lord Fleamont Potter owned twenty percent, as did the Malfoys. The Ministry owned the remaining fifteen percent.

She then wrote that if I were to win the duel, I would immediately inherit the entire Malfoy fortune and all their assets with the deaths of both Abraxas and Lucius, since Lucretia was unable to inherit due to some old Malfoy tradition that didn't allow women to inherit. They were one of the very few families that didn't allow a female heir to inherit the family fortune no matter if her husband was willing to take her maiden name or not, which Rita called "a short-sighted and idiotic tradition that may end the Malfoy line with the help of a middle-aged housewife and a second-year Hogwarts student. Impressive though they may be, it would be undoubtedly the most pathetic way a pureblood line has been ended in our history."

This comment caused me to burst into uncontrollable laughter, which caught the attention of my grandfather, who had just come down for breakfast from his office, where he had been working on something. My father had heard me as well, as he entered with a puzzled expression on his face. As soon as they saw that I was reading the paper, knowing smiles appeared on their faces. They had been informed of the attack already, of course. Dorea had made sure to inform him, and to tell him "I told you so." Arcturus had not enjoyed that, as it had been the second time in the last two weeks she had been able to tell him that.

"Don't get arrogant, Krios. You still have to win the duel. The Minister and Dumbledore have been rather squeamish about the idea of two Hogwarts students dueling to the death, you know. The law had been intended for heirs that were already legal adults, though it doesn't outlaw it if they aren't. They had decided that the duel should be between Abraxas and myself, and that Lucius's sentence should be decided by the Wizengamot. I was going to tell you today, but it doesn't matter now. The Ministry has no choice but to allow the two of you to duel. I don't believe that I have to remind you of how much our House will benefit from this," Arcturus said sternly.

"I know. The Malfoy wealth and assets would make us by far the richest family in Wizarding Britain. The chance to combine two of the five wealthiest houses in the country is the opportunity of a lifetime. I won't let you or the House of Black down," I swore to him. Something I sincerely hoped would be the case. I just hoped that he would approve of my plan for the Malfoys and their fortune...

**AN: Hope you enjoy the update. Always thought that Riddle would have some enemies in Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and thought I would create one that was powerful enough to cause him problems, but still would be no match for Riddle in the end should they face each other. And there's a reason he sounds like Mad-Eye Moody... Things with the Malfoys escalated quickly. I always thought that Lucius was like Draco in school but was forced to grow up and get smarter during the war. And we can all see a fourteen year old Draco trying to do something like that after losing, no matter how important the person beating him was. And now Abraxas is dead after underestimating a Black and Lucius is going to be fighting for his life in the next chapter. That duel will shape the future of the Wizarding World. And the ritual has happened with the help of a couple of House Elves and loyal little brothers. They are all a lot happier and closer without Walburga and with Orion playing a minimal role in their upbringing. The ritual will be a huge help in the future, but there will be some side effects... Also, I am centering my text because it's comfortable for me to do so while typing on my phone. Sorry, but if it bothers you, you are welcome to DM me and I will let you know where to send a check so I can buy a laptop that I don't need for anything else. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Settling Affairs

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or any thing else you might recognize **

**Krios POV**

**October 20, 1970**

There were only thirteen people present to preside over the trial by combat that I would be fighting against Lucius Malfoy in one of the smaller courtrooms in the Ministry of Magic. The Malfoy's lawyer had managed to convince the Wizengamot to delay the duel for almost an entire month to allow the family "the proper time to mourn Lord Abraxas Malfoy." While the whole thing was a load of shit in my book, I definitely used the month stuck in Black Manor to continue to train with my private tutors and go through some of my family's old tomes. I was ready.

Those present were all either members of the oldest and most powerful noble houses or held important positions in the government. Albus Dumbledore, Minister Jenkins, Lord Harold Minchum of the DMLE, Lord Charlus Potter, representing the Aurors, Lord Fleamont Potter, Lord Thaddeus Nott, Lord Arcturus Black, Lord Tiberius Ogden, who was the Chief Mugwump of the Wizengamot, Madam Griselda Marchbanks, Lord Harfang Longbottom, Lord Brenton Greengrass, Lord Hector Fawley, who is also a former Minister of Magic, and Lord Everton Bones. Both of the Lady Malfoys were present, as was my father. Sirius and Regulus were at Black Manor with Aunt Dorea.

If Lucius won, he would be declared innocent by Magic itself and free to go. If I won, I will get to decide Lucius's fate, with no limitations. Everyone present, even Albus Dumbledore, had undoubtedly resigned themselves to the fact that one of us would be dead by the end of the day. In the history of honor duels, not a single loser had been left alive. Some of their deaths were so terrible that they had managed to make their way into Muggle horror stories over the centuries.

Granted, the stories were completely different, but Edgar Allan Poe had gotten some inspiration for his stories from a drunken Squib from the Parkinson family retelling family history. And H.P Lovecraft was a Squib descendant of one of the losers of in the sixteenth century, one Malum Lovegood. Malum's death had been said to have been so horrific and bloody that Lucius Malfoy the First had allegedly used his death to fuel a ritual that would cause his descendants to have a loose grip on reality and their sanity. I wouldn't be suprised if this was true, having read Lovecraft in my past life and heard some of the things Xenophilius Lovegood, the strange Ravenclaw a year ahead of me, had come up with.

I wasn't even slightly worried about fighting Lucius. He owed me a life debt, and I knew I could beat him. I was extremely prepared. Also, I had watched him duel when I had snuck into the Dueling Club at Hogwarts last year, and he had several weaknesses in his dueling style that I could exploit. The Dueling Club was off limits to first years, but they didn't have any rules against me watching and learning. I had no doubt that would benefit me when I joined. I was looking forward to taking Lucius down and destroying the name of Malfoy.

However, I was rather caught off guard by the announcement by the Minister after she had made her opening statements. "Due to the life debt owed to the Heir Black, Lucius Malfoy has elected to nominate a champion. His sister, Lucretia Malfoy, has volunteered to fight in her brother's stead, and is fully aware that she will share her brother's fate if she loses. Does Heir Black accept these terms?" Minister Eugenia Jenkins asked, looking at me in askance.

I knew I could technically refuse, but it had the downside of making me look like a coward in front of most of the most powerful and important members in Wizarding Britain, which wasn't ideal. Granted, the Malfoy fortune and assets made that route worth it, but I had future plans that required the goodwill of some of the Lord and Ladies in the audience today. And while I was slightly suprised that it was Lucretia I would be fighting, I had planned for the possibility of the Malfoys pulling a stunt like this.

"I accept," I said firmly. I saw the look of suprise and approval in the eyes of the Minister at my confidence.

"Very well, then. If both of you would come and sign the binding contract that states the terms, and then proceed to take your positions on the dueling podium to our left," the Minister said, banging her gavel on the podium. Lucretia and I both did as we were bid, and after carefully reading and signing the contract, walked over to the podium. Neither of us made eye contact or said anything as we made our way over and took our positions. I had a feeling that she was only doing this because of familial loyalty and duty. She may not want to kill me, but I had no doubt that she would. A long, drawn out duel would not be a good idea. She had far more magical knowledge than I did. It was time to execute my plan.

We bowed to each other as dueling etiquette required us to, and then took our positions and drew our wands. Minister Jenkins then gave the signal for the duel to began. I was immediately forced to dodge a curse that undoubtedly would have separated my head from my shoulders.

_"Glacius!" _I shouted, pointing my wand at the floor by Lucretia's feet, causing the floor to become icy. It caught Lucretia by suprise, causing her to lose her footing and shoot her second curse at the warded ceiling, where it dissipated. I immediately took advantage of her loss of balance.

_"Expelliarmus! Incarcerous!" _I said firmly. Lucretia failed to shield herself in time, and her wand was ripped out of her hand. Within seconds of the beginning of the duel, Lucretia Malfoy was lying bound and wandless on the floor. "Yield!" I told her firmly.

Lucretia glared at me with hatred. I could understand why. I had just made her look inept in a duel, something that I was aware she was rather good at. She was likely feeling rather humiliated. My response to Lucius's actions had destroyed her family and was about to take everything away from them. Granted, it really was Lucius and Abraxas's faults, but it was probably easier to blame me instead of her father and brother. But she had no choice now. And her face took on a look of absolute defeat as she realized it. "Yield," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Minister Jenkins banged her gavel again to gain everyone's attention. It was a rather annoying habit that was starting to get on my nerves. "Krios Black is the winner. Lucius has been declared guilty by Magic itself. As Lucius was the last eligible heir of the Ancient House of Malfoy, Krios Black is now Lord Malfoy. All Malfoy assets and titles legally belong to him, as does the fates of the remaining members of the House of Malfoy," the Minister said, looking rather nervous as she spoke.

"Have you decided what you will do with the rest of the Malfoys, Lord Malfoy?" Tiberius Ogden asked respectfully. His respect in using my title was both noted and appreciated. I made a mental note to try and work with him in the future, as he seemed to be a both a good man and competent leader, something that was not very common in the Ministry.

Before I could respond, I noticed the three Malfoys huddled together around the Auror guarding Lucius. And then I noticed the Auror reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box of cigarettes. Judging by the shocked look on the faces of Uncle Charlus and Director Minchum, they had come to the same conclusion. The Auror was activating a Portkey to help the Malfoys escape! And before anyone could respond, they vanished in a flash.

"Apparently, Abraxas gave his wife access to far more funds in his family vaults than we had thought, as I was under the impression that she didn't have access to the funds necessary to bribe an Auror," my grandfather said, a furious but calm expression etched on his face as he glared at the Minister and Director Minchum.

"Auror Gresham wasn't even supposed to be on duty today! Why was he even in the courtroom?" an irate Charlus Potter demanded, glaring at the three Aurors there. A red-haired wizard with a long scar on his left cheek, whom I recognized as Professor McGonagall's youngest brother Robert, stepped forward.

He was obviously the Senior Auror of the three, as I recognized the other two as recent Auror Academy graduates. Junior Aurors Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour were both honest men, and I knew that they were both competent and incorruptible. As it had been the well-respected Senior Auror Arabor Moody who had told my Uncle Charlus this, I figured that it was true. Moody was already well-known in the Ministry for his paranoia. His son Alastor was also an Auror, having graduated from the Auror Academy five years ago.

"Auror Gresham was covering for Auror Robards, sir. He was injured on the mission in Cornwall last night. Smuggler caught him in the back with a rather nasty hex. He's in St. Mungo's, but is expected to make a full recovery. Senior Auror Moody wanted me to tell you that the report is waiting for you on your desk when you get back," Auror Robert McGonagall informed him.

Charlus Potter sighed. I knew he hated the paperwork that came with his job. And Gresham's actions were going to cause a lot of it. "Thank you, Auror McGonagall. I suppose I better head to the office and read that report then," he said with a slight grimace.

"Director Minchum and I should do the same. The Prophet is going to have a field day with this," Minister Jenkins said, looking very unnerved by that prospect.

"Minister, I believe there is one more matter to attend to. As you know, there was a magical contract attached to this duel. One that was signed by all three Malfoys. And it has been broken. As such, I hereby invoke the terms of the contract, and claim them unworthy of their magic. They have forfeited their right to wield magic and will be Squibs forever more. I hereby cast them out of the Malfoy family as outcasts. So mote be it!!" I said firmly. As I said the words, the contract glowed, and I could feel the magic of the contract being fulfilled, as I had signed it as well.

As I finished, I noticed that the majority of the Lords looked as if they had expected this to happen. It was the rules after all. My grandfather, Director Minchum, Uncle Charlus, my father, Lord Greengrass, Lord Longbottom, Lady Marchbanks, Lord Potter, Lord Ogden, and Lord Bones looked pleased, as they saw this as justice being done. Lord Nott looked like he had swallowed a lemon, as he was undoubtedly displeased at losing the Malfoy prestige and backing in the Wizengamot, as they were allies. He probably wasn't looking forward to telling the Dark Lord about it either. Lord Fawley looked the same, although that was probably because of the fact that it was his daughter and grandchildren that were losing their magic, something that could kill them if they weren't strong enough to survive the shock to their system.

And the Minister and Dumbledore just looked disappointed, as if they had expected me to be better than that. "_Honestly, I'm a Black, what did they expect? That I would just let them go? I honestly wonder what kind of drugs Dumbledore has in those lemon drops of his. And I wonder if he has been sharing with the Minister?" _I thought to myself.

"Also, I wish to name Lord Arcturus Black as the proxy for the Malfoy holdings and the hereditary seat on the Wizengamot. And I wish to name my brother Sirius as my Heir, and my brother Regulus as my Heir Secondary," I said confidently.

"Very well. Any further matters that need to be addressed?" Lord Ogden asked. There wasn't, and so Lord Ogden dismissed the courtroom after congratulating me on my victory. Fortunately, everyone there had business to attend to, and only offered me a courtesy congratulations. Although the majority of them added that they were looking forward to seeing me in the Wizengamot when I came of age. And after that, my grandfather took me to Gringotts to settle the financial dealings of House Malfoy.

I found myself slightly irritated as I left Gringotts with my grandfather. Not with the Goblins themselves, as they had a begrudging respect for my grandfather's financial prowess, and it was a mutual one. Xenophobic racist my grandfather may be, but he had a policy to not piss off the beings that control your money and are excellent investors when motivated. And that policy had increased the Black fortune exponentially since Arcturus became Lord Black, and was one of the main reasons that the House of Black was now the wealthiest in Wizarding Britain, if not all of Europe.

No, I was irritated by the fact that Penelope Malfoy had managed to get ahold of more than a half a million Galleons from her personal vault that Abraxas gave her before she fled. Granted, this was only a little less than a tenth of the Galleons in the Malfoy vaults, and between it and my trust account I had enough money to last me and my family for six or seven generations even if we spent unwisely, and that wasn't even factoring in what I would inherit when I became Lord Black when my grandfather dies. But I was annoyed that they were going to be living lavishly, especially in a city that had enough problems already.

She had already converted the Galleons to Muggle money, making her a multi-billionaire. She had already set up accounts in the non-magical world, and had fabricated a background that would hold up under nearly any investigation. She had fake names, passports, and documents all doctored by the goblins for her and her children. She had even bought a 45% stake in a multi-million dollar makeup company in America called Janus Cosmetics, mostly through methods that were rather illegal. Whoever owned the majority share of Janus Cosmetics was definitely going to be confused and concerned as to how someone managed to convince every single one of his minority shareholders to sell in less than a month and a half. I was actually rather impressed with her, as I did not expect her to have enough knowledge to survive in the non-magical world.

While Penelope had suprised me with her knowledge of non-magical customs and finances, I could only chuckle at her choice of business ventures. The irony of a Malfoy running a cosmetic company wasn't lost on me. I knew there was a reason that Lucius and Draco looked like they spent far too much time on their hair. And only someone who had never been to Gotham City, New Jersey, would think it was a good idea to invest in a business and move there, even though they had bought an extremely secure mansion in the hills of Gotham, and likely had some magical protections on it. (Otis Gresham was undoubtedly still with them, and as a former Senior Auror more than likely had the contacts in America that could provide them with competent security and wards if he was unable to do so himself.) They definitely were in for a rude awakening, regardless. Even if they survived, I doubted that I would see them again.

I had hired the financial geniuses of Rowland and Sons to manage the various businesses of the House of Malfoy. They had been vassals of the House of Black for over six centuries, and had always done an excellent job helping the Lord Blacks invest and manage their wealth and financial holdings. Only the Potters, Longbottoms, Bones, and Greengrasses had been shrewd enough to pay the Blacks to use the services of the House of Rowland. They would be members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight if not for the fact that they were not an official pureblood House as our vassals. One of my ancestors had saved the minor pureblood House of Rowland from extinction, and they had sworn an oath of fealty to the House of Black. Thanks to their contributions over the years, they were treated well and were considered family by several members of the House of Black, including myself.

That meeting was extremely enlightening. Confirming that the House of Black was now the majority owner of the Daily Prophet was one of the highlights of my year. A lot of people believed everything they read in the Daily Prophet, and controlling it would make the House of Black the most powerful and influential family in Wizarding Britain. And with the Malfoy seat in the Wizengamot under our control, as well as a few that owed debts to the House of Malfoy, my grandfather and his allies controlled forty percent of the votes in the Wizengamot. And since it was extremely the light and dark factions would work together, my grandfather could basically control the law itself if he pleased.

However, I sensed that my grandfather was tired of dealing with the Ministry and Wizengamot. He had never been one to rock the boat, and doubted he had the energy or desire to change the laws that had made him so wealthy and powerful in the first place. He was stuck in his sense of superiority over those not of pure blood, and enjoyed the power he wielded over them. I got the feeling that he would use all his power to stick to the status quo, and nothing more. I was having a hard time blaming him for that, as having this political and financial power was intoxicating. But I knew things in the Wizarding World needed to change, and I couldn't wait until I became Lord Black so I could start changing it.

My return home that evening turned into a family dinner celebration, which was a suprise to be sure. I was actually under the impression that the majority of my family didn't know what celebrating or having fun was. But apparently becoming the richest family in Wizarding Britain by vanquishing a family in a honor duel caused the Black family to let down their hair a bit. My cousins Eric, Narcissa, and Andromeda had been allowed to come home from Hogwarts for the weekend, escorted by our uncle, Professor Alphard Black. Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea were there, as was Aunt Lucretia and Uncle Ignatius Prewett, much to my suprise.

My father's sister hadn't been to a Black family dinner since before I was born, thanks to crazy Aunt Cassieopia hexing her husband. But apparently my grandfather disowning her and Pollux had been what had allowed Arcturus to mend fences with his only daughter. Although he probably had to do some groveling, if the stories about her were true. I decided that I should ask her before the end of the night

"Where's the food, Arcturus, I'm starving!" Lucretia said loudly from her seat at the table. Yeah, the stories of Lucretia Prewett née Black were definitely accurate. Loud, a sense of humor, opinionated, and stubborn to a fault. I hoped she stuck around, things would definitely be more interesting with her and her prankster of a husband around. Although I wondered if Arcturus had noticed that Sirius was seated next to Ignatius, as that seemed like an extremely bad idea to put those two next to each other. He probably had been more focused on putting him as far away from Orion as possible. Those two hated each other for some reason that no one will speak of. Sirius and Ignatius were already whispering and laughing about something, which was concerning to me. Especially since I was sitting on the other side of Sirius.

"We are still waiting on some guests, Lucretia. It would be extremely impolite to start dinner without our niece Bellatrix and her husband, not to mention rather dangerous. One should never upset the wife of the Grand Vizier of Wizarding Russia," Arcturus said with a small smirk. Just as he said that, Bellatrix's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Lord Black, the Royal Family wishes to join us for dinner, if that is acceptable?" Bellatrix asked diplomatically. This caught me off guard, as I had not expected Bellatrix to be joining us tonight, let alone the Grand Vizier and the Royal Family!

"Of course, we would be honored by the presence of the Royal Family, Lady Dolohov. Tippy, please set three more spaces at the table," Arcturus said smoothly, snapping his fingers to signal the elf to do so quickly.

"Oh, it will be good to see Peter again!" Lucretia said with delight. It's always been strange to me how me family could talk about the royalty and the famous of the Wizarding World as they were old friends, especially as it was true. Then, I froze and swore under my breath as I suddenly realized that I had failed to write Boris and Natalia since I had been injured in the Quidditch tryouts. Which was understandable considering the circumstances, but was still terrible form. I really needed to make it up to them somehow. Slighting royalty was not a good idea, even if you had just recently saved their lives.

Eric, who was sitting on my left, heard me swear, and looked at me with a questioning look. Before I could explain, Bellatrix came through the Floo, followed by her husband. They greeted Arcturus first, as custom demanded. "Thank you for the dinner invite, Lord Black. The Royal family will be here in a few minutes, they are trying to convince their security guards that they aren't needed. Oh, and I have been absolutely craving one of Tippy's apple pies. The elves at Dolohov Manor are never able to make it right," Bellatrix said with a smile. I knew that comment had just made Tippy's year, and had assured that there was going to be a lot of apple pie tonight. It was also somewhat reassuring to know that Bella hadn't changed a bit since I last saw her while I was recovering from my injuries from her wedding day.

"Yes, she reduced our house elf to tears with her comparisons. It took me hours to calm her down," Vladimir Dolohov said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well I am eating for two now, dear, and our princess simply must have the best," Bellatrix said in a tone that said there would be no argument on the subject. It was then that we were treated to one of the most unholiest sounds in exsistence: the three Black sisters shrieking in excitement. Poor Regulus was caught in the crossfire, as he was seated beside Narcissa, who was sitting beside Andromeda. The noise and the ensuing stampede to congratulate their sister resulted in him being knocked out of his chair.

Fortunately for him, I was the only one who noticed. Everyone else was wincing in pain from the noise. Or judging by the look of sheer terror on Sirius's face, either sincerely hoping that the child didn't take after her mother, or that Bellatrix had forgotten that he had put itching powder in her school robes before she left for Hogwarts last year. She had never gotten the chance to get him back for the embarrassment she had endured before myself and the rest of the first years were Sorted. Professor Flitwick had shown mercy on her and fixed it before the Sorting began, according to Andromeda. She had only seen him at the wedding since then, and he had made sure to keep his distance as much as possible. And he had made sure to disappear when she had come to visit me the week after her wedding.

"Congratulations, Bella. You look great. The portraits of Dolohov Manor must feel inadequate having such a glamorous Lady Dolohov in their midst," I said with a smile as Bellatrix finished greeting Eric and reached me. Pureblood chivalry was taught from a young age, and I have always believed that flattery gets you everywhere in life.

"Oh, you are becoming such the little charmer, Krios. You're going to need all of it to get back in the good graces of the Prince and Princess," Bellatrix said, giving me a hug and giving me a disappointed look, causing me to wince. Yeah, I had really screwed up on that one. Not writing my friends for two months before going to fight a honor duel was a bad move, no matter who they were.

She said the last part quietly, as she didn't want to embarrass me in front of the entire family. Unfortunately, Sirius started snickering for some reason. Whether that was from Bellatrix's comment or from something Ignatius had said, I had no idea. But it was definitely was a mistake on his part, as this particular laugh caused Bellatrix to glare at him. And if looks could kill, Sirius would have been six feet under right about now. And he knew it, judging by the fact that he went as pale as a ghost.

Fortunately, Sirius escaped what was likely an extremely painful hexing by the arrival of the Royal Family, with the King the first one to Floo in. They had apparently managed to convince their rather paranoid Security Chief that an entire squad of guards was unnecessary in the heavily warded Black Manor, as he was the only one with them and was looking extremely disgruntled about it. In his defense, having an entire squad of guards killed in an assassination attempt planned by one of the King's most trusted advisors would definitely make one wary. While he definitely trusted me and Arcturus thanks to our actions that night, the Blacks had a reputation even in Russia.

Cassiopeia, Cygnus Black II( my uncle's namesake), Regulus Black I, Lycoris Black, and Pollux had all been active in the the Soviet Union when they were Grindelwald's enforcers. Lycoris in particular had done a lot of damage, having killed several people and destroying a lot of property, mainly by setting it on fire. She and Regulus had eventually been caught after the war and been sentenced to Azkaban, where they had died. I had found out last week that Professor Travis Kipling had been the one to catch them fifteen years ago, as they had been the lieutenants trying to continue Grindelwald's crusade. Lycoris had been the one to give my current professor the majority of his scars, as she had always loved setting things on fire, especially when they were people. It explained why he seemed to hate me.

Cygnus had been killed in a duel with Aurors in Wessex in 1943. It had taken the combined efforts of the famous war hero and Head Auror Theseus Scamander and Arabor Moody to take him down in the end. It had cost Arabor a leg, though. The five Blacks had been some of Grindelwald's most feared followers for a reason. The only reason Cassieopia and Pollux had escaped being sentenced to life in Azkaban was the lack of evidence against them, as their victims were too dead to testify against them. Combined with the fact that they were probably able to bribe the judge, they were found not guilty on all charges.

My actions that night had done wonders for the reputation of the House of Black in Russia, something even the donations of Arcturus Black or his friendship with the King had failed to accomplish. The fact that I had saved the Heirs of the Royal Family and the extremely popular King Peter had earned back a lot of goodwill towards our family, as did the marriage of Bellatrix Black to the new Grand Vizier Vladimir Dolohov. She was doing a very good job at helping her husband manage the affairs of House Dolohov.

Arcturus introduced the members of the Black family that had not met the Royal family or Grand Vizier Dolohov, before they sat down to eat the feast that Tippy and the other House Elves had prepared. Fortunately, I was able to get away from my family to get a moment alone with the Prince and Princess at the end of our rather subdued and formal dinner. It was one where it went unspoken that the children needed to be seen, not heard. In fact, the only time I spoke with the King was to ask his permission to speak to his children privately for a moment, which he gave. I knew that both he and Arcturus approved of our friendship, and they likely were having some nostalgic memories of their childhood days together.

I led the two royal heirs to an alcove not far from the dining hall. "I wanted to apologize. I have been terribly lax in keeping in touch with you both over the last couple of months. I let my circumstances get in the way of being a good friend. I hope you can forgive me for that," I said remorsefully.

The two royals looked at each other before turning to me. "You're forgiven, Krios. Just promise us that you'll write us before you fight someone to the death next time," Boris said with a small smile.

"Although it would be preferable if you could stay out of trouble entirely. It seems like every time we see you, it either precedes or follows a near-death experience," Natalia added, exasperation in her voice.

"That is true, isn't it? I promise you that finding trouble it is not intentional on my part. But I promise you I will write next time. And it is good to see you both. How have things been?" I asked them. We talked for over an hour that night before they went home to Russia. And the bonds of friendship had emerged stronger than ever, despite the scolding I ended up getting from Natalia over the duel. Merlin, that girl has a sharp tongue. I was glad that she appeared to be over her crush on me though. It was great to see her relaxed and comfortable around me.

After our Royal guests had left for the evening, I led Eric and Sirius through the Manor into one of the most secluded areas of Black Manor, the East Wing Storeroom. The East Wing Storeroom had been completely isolated since the fourteenth century, and only the Head of the Black Family could even get in there. And they usually weren't interested in the paperwork and useless trinkets of their ancestors. They had enough of those already, and figured anything of value would be either in the Lord's office, Gringotts, or the hidden vault that stored a quarter of the Black fortune that only the Lord Black could access. My ancestors have always been rather paranoid.

But I had been allowed access to the storeroom over the summer. It was one of the many privileges I had been given after I had saved the lives of the Prince and Princess. I hadn't spent much time there until the weeks before the duel, when I decided to see if there was anything in there that could help me with my duel. I didn't have any luck there, but I had been completely shocked by what I had uncovered last week while I was studying the notes of one of my ancestors, Oswald Black I who lived in the late fifth century and was one of the three brothers that founded the House of Black. And according to the portrait of Oswald Black IV from the ninth century hanging in the storeroom, I was the only living person that knew of it, as he hadn't known about it either.

Upon first look, all that was in there was historical documents and artifacts collected by the various Lord Blacks over the years. Pretty impressive to look at, but nothing compared to what I found behind the statue of one of the other founders of the Black Family, Sir Willibert Black, the Black Knight of the Round Table and wielder of the Ebony Blade. Yeah, it was pretty cool knowing that the one of the founders of the House of Black and my many times great grandfather was one of King Arthur's knights, one that was still revered in the Wizarding World. He even had a Chocolate Frog Card. He was a true hero that, according to legend, was killed protecting Queen Guinevere from Saxon invaders after the fall of Camelot. But what was more interesting was what he had managed to hide in his Manor for over a thousand years.

It was a hidden staircase, one leading deep underneath Black Manor itself. Sir Willebert's portrait in the Black Library hadn't spoken to anyone since it was painted, and the few other portraits that we still had that were alive at the time wouldn't tell me anything either. The only thing that they would tell me is that I shouldn't go down there, and that I shouldn't tell anyone about it. And that it had been sealed off since the Fall of Camelot. The Fall of Camelot was something that the somewhat helpful portrait of Oswald Black I, my many times great uncle whose direct descendants had died out in the fourteenth century, had refused to discuss when I had asked.

The only reason I had found it in the first place was because my ancestors had failed to realize that there had been notes left behind by Oswald I telling of the exsistence of the hidden stairway, as it clearly had been in use when Black Manor was built in the late fifth century. He must have forgotten to destroy all his notes before he died, and his firstborn son Oswald II was known as Oswald the Slow for a reason. The secret undoubtedly died with him when he was killed in battle a few years after he assumed the Lordship, as his oldest son who had succeeded him as Lord Black hadn't been born when the stairway had been sealed off.

Now, this wasn't the only hidden rooms in Black Manor. There was a long, winding staircase at the end of the long hallway in the West Wing by my grandfather's office. It was hidden behind a false wall, and it would lead you down to the dungeons, where those who crossed the Blacks met their end back in the day. There was another hidden room on the right side of the hallway that would take you into the storeroom that held all of our potions ingredients, which included both legal and illegal substances. And in the hidden room next to that was the potions lab.

I also had a feeling that there were more secrets and history in this place than any magical building in Wizarding Britain besides perhaps Hogwarts and the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. I mean, there was even a hidden door that protected the entire Black Family Library in Arcturus's office. I would be shocked if Arcturus had told me all of his secrets despite his trust in me, considering our family history of killing each over the centuries. I wouldn't be suprised if there were several things even he didn't know about this place. After all, only my grandfather and myself even knew that those rooms even existed, as only the Lord and the Heir of House Black had that privilege. And only with the willing permission of myself or my grandfather could anyone else get into those rooms, and I knew that it didn't happen very often.

"What is this place?" Eric asked, looking around the dimly lit room, filled with ancient documents and trinkets scattered across the room.

"This is the East Wing Storeroom. It's basically the room where my ancestors threw all the paperwork and personal items that their fathers left behind in the Lord's office when they died. Too valuable or inconvenient to throw away, not important enough to keep in the office, I guess," I said with a shrug.

"If all this stuff isn't that important, then why is this room hidden behind the strongest set of Black family wards," Sirius asked, as he picked up and examined an ear trumpet from one of the boxes in the corner. "I mean, even Gramp's office isn't this heavily protected."

"I'm glad that you have been paying attention in your lessons, little brother. That's exactly what I wondered. And I am the first Black in a millennium to uncover the reason why," I said smugly. I tapped the statue guarding the stairway on the nose with my wand, and the statue moved to reveal the stairway.

"Whoa, cool! Where does it lead?" Sirius exclaimed in slight awe.

"I don't know. See those stones in the corners, there?" I said, pointing to the corner right at the top of the staircase. There sat two stones that were covered with markings that glowed a bright orange.

"Are those ancient ward stones?" Eric asked, as he glanced over the stones with a calculating gaze.

"Yeah, they are. Knowing our ancestors, they probably have something nasty attached to them. I have no intention of messing with them until I know a lot more, and have someone who is an Ancient Runes expert take a look at them. We should keep this a secret until then, as it's this heavily protected for a reason. And I would hope that you two wouldn't mess with this place either," I said, fixing Sirius with a look.

"Relax Krios, I know better than to mess with artifacts around this place. Your secret's safe with me" Sirius said firmly.

"And me as well," Eric chimed in.

"I knew I could count on you guys. Now let's get out of here. I got to finish the last of my homework before I go back to Hogwarts tomorrow," I said with a slight grimace. Homework will never, ever be fun.

**AN: Hope you like how I dealt with the Malfoy's. I had a couple of different ideas on how to resolve Krios's feud with the Malfoy's, and this is what I decided on. And Krios is dead wrong. He'll see the Malfoy's again, although it won't be until the planned sequel. And Krios is going to be in for a shock when he does, as Lucius isn't the only arrogant, spoiled rich kid with a fascination with masks in town... **

**I always figured Sirius didn't know a lot about his family's assets and secrets. Not only did he hate most of them, J.K admitted the Blacks were extremely paranoid. And Arcturus died years after Orion did, and considering both Orion and Walburga's personality, they probably wouldn't have been told a lot either. It wouldn't suprise me if Arcturus had some secret vaults in Gringotts. The idea that the Blacks were one of the wealthiest families in Wizarding Britain is not a farfetched or original idea, and they just added the majority of the Malfoy fortune to it. The Malfoy's were rich enough to be able to flaunt their wealth, so the idea that Krios is now heir to a fortune that would last a multiple generations even with bad spending is plausible. **

**The Blacks have always had a bit of a reputation, so it makes sense that they had at least a few members fighting for Grindelwald. Hope you were intrigued by the family history I introduced. Arthurian mythology has always fascinated me. In my story, Merlin and Camelot existed before Hogwarts did, so Merlin never attended Hogwarts. I honestly think some wizard made up that he was in Slytherin to boost the reputation of Hogwarts, as the dates make no sense. I know the Black Knight is a Marvel character, but I am still incorporating his exsistence into my fanfic verse. There will be a few characters from Marvel I do that with, mostly in the sequel. **

**I hoped you enjoyed the interaction with the Romanovs and Dolohovs. Bellatrix still has a few screws loose, but she has more level-headed people around her. She'll only be a threat to her enemies, and Krios will never be one of them. Although I feel sorry for anyone that has to deal with the hormones of a pregnant Bellatrix... Both she and the Romanovs won't make an appearance for a few chapters. And the staircase mystery is going to remain a mystery for longer than that... **

**Hope you enjoyed! Hope you all are staying healthy and safe during this time.**


	6. Under Fire

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or anything else you might recognize**

**AN: Sorry this update took this long. Between working 50 plus hours a week as a server at a retirement home that has multiple positive cases of COVID, losing my grandfather to kidney failure, and assisting my family with the care of my grandmother who has advanced Parkinson's, I have had little time the last couple of months. A shout out to all those doctors, nurses, and other emergency services working on the front lines during the pandemic. You are all true heroes. I hope you enjoy this update, it may be a while before I can update any of my stories. Thank you for your understanding. Hope you all stay healthy and safe during this time.**

**Krios POV**

My return to Hogwarts next week was looking like it was going to be far more eventful than I had originally expected. Although catching up on my schoolwork was going to be rather simple, I had been away from school for over a month. And as such, I had completely forgotten that the Slytherin-Hufflepuff Quidditch match was to be played in a week and a half. This was a problem, as the Slytherin team didn't even have a single practice with the entire starting team yet.

They had been practicing with the reserve Chaser, third year Emma Vanity, who was reportedly decent. But the new reserve Seeker was a fourth year who had made the team as a reserve Chaser. And the only reason that Albert Runcorn got the spot was because his father had recently been appointed the Undersecretary of the Ministry, and had been arrogant enough to believe he was a good Quidditch player. In truth, he was terrible and didn't belong on the Quidditch pitch.

Unsurprisingly Slytherin Quidditch Captain Steve Laughalot was in a complete panic. Fortunately, he didn't blame me at the moment; or at least that is what I had gathered from the letter that he sent me three days after the duel. I had some doubt that he would continue to feel that way if I failed to catch the Snitch, though. But I had no doubt that I would be able to do so, as I was confident I could beat that pompous windbag Amos Diggory to the Snitch. He may be three years older than me, but I felt that I was the better Seeker. And losing to the Hufflepuffs was unacceptable to me. Despite the fact that they were decent people for the most part, I never could get the idea out of my head that they were the stoner House for some reason.

I knew that my position as Heir Black was the only reason the Slytherins whose families supported the Dark Lord wouldn't dare come after me. I had all but singlehandedly destroyed the House of Malfoy, one of the Dark Lord's most powerful and wealthy supporters. While we still weren't considered enemies of the Dark Lord to the Wizarding World at large, I had no doubt that Voldemort was at least beginning to consider my grandfather as an obstacle that would likely need to be removed. But I doubted he would move against us for a while. Attacking the House of Black would lose him a lot of support that he couldn't afford to lose right now.

I had hired Gringotts cursebreakers to comb Malfoy Manor for anything dangerous. I knew this would be money well spent, especially if Abraxas had been the one to get the diary from Voldemort. It was quite possible that he had passed it down to Lucius when he had died, and Lucius had used it to try and discredit Arthur Weasley in 1992. I knew if this was the case, Voldemort would be coming for it. And since I currently only knew the location of the diadem, I felt it was important to retrieve and destroy the diary. And since Voldemort was reportedly in Albania recruiting, it needed to be done before he returned.

I arrived at edge of the property of Malfoy Manor with my father via Side-Along Apparation the morning after the duel. A team of four cursebreakers waited there, along with a team of four Aurors. I immediately recognized the lead Auror, Arabor Moody. He was an imposing man with several scars lining his face and muscles bigger than my head. The famous war hero had been one of a select group to duel Grindelwald and live. He was in the company of wizards like Albus Dumbledore, Charlus Potter, Newt Scamander, Aberforth Dumbledore, and Doctor Fate. And only a few knew about the latter three, as they had not been public knowledge. Aberforth and Newt had kept it a secret for personal reasons, and the ICW had no intention of informing the public that someone as powerful as Fate exsisted outside their jurisdiction. Bloody idiots had a superiority complex.

Steapa Moody, Arabor's eldest son, stood beside his father. He was also in terrific shape, which was rather rare for anyone who wasn't a professional Quidditch player. The other two Aurors were two other Aurors I didn't recognize. The cursebreakers were two goblins who had been hand selected for the task by King Ragnok himself. He and my grandfather were on decent terms for a goblin and a wizard, and I had apparently made a good impression on him when we had met to discuss the Malfoy fortune.

"What are you doing here?" Orion Black sneered at Arabor Moody, who was glaring at him. Oh, great. They don't like each other. I swear, I can't take Orion anywhere without him causing a scene of some sort.

"I'm sure that Uncle Charlus sent them to see if they could find anything on some of Abraxas's friends. That fucker was the type that would collect evidence against people in order to blackmail them later. I'd imagine that there is a treasure trove of information on corrupt bureaucrats in his office. That's probably why he sent Auror Moody. He may be an utter bastard and a pain in the ass of many of his superiors, but he's a damn good Auror and completely incorruptible," I said, cutting off the inevitable retort from the accomplished senior Auror.

"He's got you there, Arabor," one of the Aurors said in what I recognized as a slight New Jersey accent. Which was surprising to hear in Britain, to say the least. The man had an amused grin on his face, and was a rather hefty man with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth that looked to be in his mid-twenties. His partner, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde in her early twenties who was as dangerous as she was beautiful, started giggling beside him. Martha McKinnon was my Uncle Charlus's protege, and had been over to the Potter's house for dinner several times while I was visiting Eric. I knew her rather well, and she was the subject of several fantasies of mine.

"Stuff it, Bullock. You too, McKinnon. Yes, that's why we're here, boy. Although I do wonder where you learned how to swear like an Auror. I doubt Dorea lets our boss swear around you kids," Arabor said with a slight grin.

"Yeah, she would castrate him if he did, no doubt. Nah, I learned most of it from Orion. He spends a lot of time sulking and swearing in the halls of Black Manor, complaining about how his life is unfair and that it's everyone's fault but his own. How he came to that conclusion when he hasn't done anything productive since he got Walburga pregnant with me and my brothers is beyond me, though," I said with a shrug and a slight smirk on my face.

"How dare you speak to me like that?! You should show me some respect!" Orion said, his face reddening in rage. It was a sight I was used to, and didn't frighten me in the slightest. Orion was pretty much all bark and no bite these days. And I was tired of his attitude and the way he acted as if he was Merlin's gift to the Wizarding world. It was time to knock him down a few pegs and hopefully motivate him to become somewhat useful to our family.

"And it's time you started to earn the respect you think you are owed. I have done more for this family in the last two years than you have your entire life. It's way past time for you to stop moping around and do something constructive for the House of Black. I love you father, but I am getting tired of your attitude and I am tired of cleaning up your messes. The House of Black needs you to step up. So please, let me do what I need to do without starting a fight with the Aurors," I told him firmly. And with that, I turned around and made my way to the Manor. I was eventually joined by the five stunned wizards and two amused goblins.

As I walked up to the gate at the edge of the property, I stopped and admired the luxury of Malfoy Manor for a moment. Then, I got down to business. "I, Krios Hyperion Black, as the new Lord Malfoy by right of conquest, claim control of these wards and lands as mine. So mote be it!" I said in what I felt was a rather commanding voice for a twelve year old. I immediately felt the magic of the wards that I had claimed.

I turned to the lead goblin, who was named Worror, and he handed me the tome that contained all the protections on Malfoy Manor and instructions on how to control them, which I had found in the main Malfoy vault. I waved my wand over the book and adjusted the wards that allowed access to certain people. I did not want any of Abraxas's old friends dropping in on me, so wiping the access list clean was a wise thing to do. I also gave temporary acces to the others there so that they could enter the wards and the manor.

"Thank you, Worror. Shall we proceed then?" I asked the group as I began to make the half mile trek to the doors of the Manor. They were opened for us on our arrival by one of the House Elves I had inherited with the Manor. Arabor nodded slightly at me, and entered the Manor with the rest of the Aurors following closely behind him, and the rest of us followed.

* * *

**Voldemort POV**

One month. I leave for my Death Eaters alone for one month to gather more followers in the Balkans and everything goes to hell. One of my most useful followers is dead due to his own stupidity, and the majority of his fortune is lost to me because of the idiocy of his heir. I was tempted to hunt the little bastard Lucius down for losing the Malfoy fortune and causing Abraxas to lose his wits and life trying to save him. But losing his magic was more than punishment enough. I couldn't help but be impressed by the ruthlessness of Krios Black. I would definitely be recruiting him in the future.

Abraxas had thankfully been kind enough to make sure to give me a couple of his vaults before he got himself killed attacking Dorea Potter. That witch and her husband were obstacles that likely needed to be eliminated at some point. I would have to start planning the best way to do that in the future. Both were admittedly rather powerful, it was a pity they had chosen to oppose me. They would have been valuable servants. But my spies inside the Ministry inform me that Charlus Potter was very much my enemy, and a competent one at that.

As it happened, one of said spies was giving me a report on how the Ministry was handling the death of Abraxas Malfoy and the duel between Krios Black and Lucretia Malfoy, the result of which has caused the Black family to be more powerful than ever. I sat at the head of the table in the luxurious manor that I claimed from one of my French relatives in Wales. Becoming Lord Rochambeau had been a huge boon to my crusade, despite the name no longer holding any political power.

It was a pity I had been unable to find and claim the ring of Lord Slytherin, something that still angers me. Salazar has become so paranoid that he had not only hidden the ring, but allegedly had put many protections on the ring to keep those he deemed unworthy from claiming it. I suspected that it was in the Chamber of Secrets, as I had regrettably been unable to search the Chamber much after I had opened it at Hogwarts with Dumbledore watching me so closely. I would have to do that when I have finished conquering Wizarding Britain.

"The Minister spent a lot of time with Dumbledore after the duel. Both are very concerned about how much power Arcturus Black is gathering. He has almost complete control of the Grey faction, as they are calling themselves these days. Not to mention that he controls a good portion of the votes in the Wizengamot as well. They're both very concerned that he will chose to join us, or stay out of the war entirely. I overheard the Minister say that if Lord Black chooses to join forces with the Dark Lord, that it was unlikely that this was a war the Ministry could win," Lord Thaddeus Nott informed me.

"And is this a possibility, Pollux? Will your cousin be willing to join our cause under any circumstances, despite all he has done to oppose us in the Wizengamot?" I asked Pollux Black, who was among the Death Eaters seated near me at the table.

Pollux shifted nervously in his seat before responding. "My cousin was very adamant the last time we spoke. He does not believe in you or our cause. He said that he would never join the quest of a madman and a fool no matter how powerful he was, as a true Black bows to no one. His words not mine," Pollux said, his voice laced with fear of how I would react to the news. It admittedly angered me, but it was not his fault this time. I may enjoy torturing people, but my followers have to do something really stupid in order to deserve the Cruciatus Curse. No point in destroying the minds and nerve endings of my followers unless I have to.

"Silence," I commanded, as my followers had been outraged by the words of the words of Lord Arcturus Black. And rightfully so, as he must be either ignorant or foolish to believe that he is my better. I will enjoy killing him when I figure out how to get into Black Manor. The man rarely leaves the place these days. He even appointed his vassal Rowland to sit in for him in the Wizengamot, according to my spy on the Minister's support staff.

"Arcturus is an old man, and will not be Lord Black forever. What of his son, Orion? And his grandson and Heir, Krios?" I asked Pollux.

"Orion is sympathetic to our cause, my Lord. But he has had little input in the raising of his children since his wife's death. Krios has been all but raised by Arcturus, so I do not know where his sympathies lie. He has not given anything away to his fellow students in Slytherin, besides informing them that Arcturus is Lord Black, and his word is law," Pollux informed me.

"I see. Rosier, your son is a student at Hogwarts and the cousin of Heir Black's cousins, who he is rather close with. Does he have any insight on Heir Black's opinions?" I asked Edmund Rosier, who was seated two places to my right. He was the Head of his house, and an exceptional minion that excels in the art of Human Transfiguration. He has had some beautiful ideas of ways to torture people with transfiguration. Truly marvelous to watch.

"They do not interact at Hogwarts, but I will have Evan ask the girls in my next letter. Although I did hear that young Krios has yet to return to Hogwarts. I have heard from my spy in the Auror Office before I arrived that Arabor Moody has taken his son and two other Aurors to search Malfoy Manor this morning for any evidence against any associates that they suspect he has. They are to meet Krios, his father, and a couple of curse breakers from Gringotts there in a half hour or so," Rosier told me, looking nervous as he finished.

Shit. Abraxas totally would have evidence against everyone he knew was a Death Eater. He always did enjoy blackmailing people and was always trying to keep a step ahead of all the minions trying to earn my favor or usurp his position in my Inner Circle. I had no doubt that he had enough evidence in his Manor to do some serious damage to my ranks. And I gave him my diary. If the Aurors found it, they would learn my secret. And I knew that Dumbledore would most certainly find out from Moody, and that would be bad. If anyone could figure out what I had done it was Albus Dumbledore.

"Well then. We'll have to do something about that. Black, Macklebee, Snyde, Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle with me to Malfoy Manor. The rest of you, go back to what you were doing," I commanded, grabbing some Floo Powder and heading to the fireplace.

"Yes, my Lord," they all said.

* * *

And so it happened that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were spread out in the Manor searching for the diary when Krios Black and the others arrived. Since they were already there, the wards could not prevent them from arriving. Voldemort had assigned Crabbe to watch the door, but Crabbe had decided to investigate the pantry instead. Therefore, Krios Black and company were able to enter the Manor without being seen.

* * *

**Krios POV **

"Master Krios, you be having guests. Misters Pollux, Macklebee, Snyde, Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle are here with their Master," the House Elf told me in a low, nervous voice. It was fortunate that Arabor Moody had heard the elf and quickly silenced the area around the entryway, as the reaction of Auror Bullock was sadly not subtle at all.

"Voldemort's here?!! Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" Bullock said. He did end up saying it rather quietly, but I was still grateful for Moody's quick thinking.

"Keep it together, Garfield. We're Aurors, let's do our job" Alastor said with a low growl.

"I believe that you will not be needing our services, Lord Malfoy. I do hope to do business with you soon," Worror said, before activating a Gringotts portkey and disappearing. While I couldn't blame them for not wanting to get involved, I was still irritated that they ditched me like that.

It was then I heard a crack that told me that the goblins were not the only ones to tuck tail and run. Orion had Disapparated, abandoning me in the process. While I had known that my father was a coward, I had never suspected that he was the type to abandon his first born son like that. He certainly wasn't the father of the year by any means, but leaving his son in the same home as a insane Dark Lord and his minions was a new low that I had never suspected he would reach.

I suddenly felt my young age for the first time in ages. I was a terrified and vulnerable twelve year old trying to thwart a powerful Dark Lord. How could I stand against such evil? Even as the eventual Lord Black and current Lord Malfoy, how could I defeat such a powerful evil? The fear was certainly evident on my face, as the four Aurors looked at me with concern and pity.

"We need to get the kid to safety. I doubt that the Lord Black would let our deaths stop him from making our lives miserable if something were to happen to his heir," Steapa told his father.

It was then I realized that I knew exactly why Voldemort was here. And I could not allow him to get ahold of the diary, no matter the cost. "Binky, do you know what they are looking for?" I asked the House Elf standing beside me.

"Yes, Master," the House Elf responded.

"Do you know where it is?" I asked. Binky nodded fervently, telling me that he did.

"Can you bring it to me?" I asked him. The House Elf nodded, and disappeared with a crack.

Arabor looked at me suspiciously. "What are you planning?" he asked.

"Considering that whatever he was looking for was important enough for him to risk running into the Aurors, it's probably something Dark and dangerous. I was hoping that you could destroy it. I don't think the Ministry will be able to keep it safe from him," I told the seasoned Auror.

Before he could respond, Binky reappeared. And in his hand was the diary. Arabor quickly took it from the House Elf and ran a few diagnostic spells on it before swearing loudly.

"What is it?" McKinnon asked nervously.

"I have seen one of these before. A German warlock made one years ago. I spent four decades working with the ICW and the White Council to bring that evil bastard down. Grindelwald was one of three students that learned from him personally, and everything he did was on the orders of his Master. And he was worse than Grindelwald and Voldemort combined. I had hoped I would never see one of these monstrosities again in my lifetime. You'd be hard pressed to find magic fouler than this. The kid's right. It needs to be destroyed," Arabor said with a dark look on his face.

As he finished saying this, a roar of anger came from the lower levels of the manor. Apparently Voldemort was now aware that his Horcrux was missing. I heard a clatter nearby, and heard loud footsteps heading towards us.

"He knows. Stand back and stay ready," Arabor said. He walked forward a few feet and set the diary on the ground, before walking back into the entryway.

" _Ignis Maledictus Bestia Perdere" _Arabor said with a low growl as he pointed his wand at the diary. Flames shot out of his wand in a way that I had only read about. Heads of beasts such as a dragon and an eagle consumed the diary, which let out an unholy shriek before it burst into flames.

It was at that moment Crabbe and Goyle ran into the sitting room where the diary was being destroyed. They both foolishly rushed to try and save their Master's treasured possession. But the result was something that I would never forget for as long as I lived. Flames engulfed the two stupid, beefy men as they burst into flames. They screamed as they were burnt alive by Fiendfyre. I vomited from the gruesome sight, and Auror McKinnon did the same. Bullock and Steapa looked rather ill as well.

"Steapa, McKinnon, Bullock, get the kid beyond the wards and get out of here. I can't control this very well, and the Dark bastard has put up the jinxes to prevent us from leaving. Protect the kid, he's the future and one of the best hopes we have of winning this war. I'll hold him and his minions off," Arabor said as he struggled to control and subdue the cursed fire. The counter curse apparently took as much focus to cast as the Fiendfyre itself.

"But father-" Steapa began to protest.

"Go!" Arabor bellowed desperately. The reason for his urgency made itself present in the form of an enraged Lord Voldemort. He appeared to have known that his Horcrux had been destroyed. Probably felt it when it had happened. Seeing the charred bodies of Crabbe and Goyle likely made him even angrier.

Steapa picked me up and put me over my shoulder. While I was taller and heavier than most twelve year olds, it did not appear to bother the Auror at all. As he began to run to the ward line with McKinnon and Bullock behind him, I saw a jet of green light hit Arabor Moody in the chest just before he managed to vanish the cursed fire that had destroyed a portion of Voldemort's soul. The powerful and famous Auror fell to the ground, dead.

"No!" McKinnon screamed, as she had seen her fellow Auror fall at the hands of the Dark Lord Voldemort as well. I felt the body of Steapa tense up, but he continued to run towards the gates. We were less than a hundred yards away before a jet of green light hit Martha McKinnon in the back, killing her instantly. I snarled at the masked man who had cast the spell that killed someone I had cared about. I pulled my wand from my holster, and fired.

"_Sectumsempra! Bombarda M__axima!" _I said, aiming my wand at the Death Eater, likely Snyde as he was the skinniest Death Eater there. His eyes widened as the dark curse caught him in the neck, killing him. And even if it hadn't, the blasting curse certainly did. It also caught another Death Eater in the blast, knocking him backwards into another Death Eater and Voldemort. This took three Death Eaters and their Master temporarily out of the fight. And judging by the fact that I heard Pollux screaming obscenities at Bullock, I had done so without them realizing it was me.

Because of this, we were able to reach the edge of the property safely. Steapa set me down and grabbed my arm and Apprated, with Bullock doing the same seconds before us. I saw Malfoy Manor in flames behind us and heard a scream of fury from Voldemort as we disappeared, and landed in a place that I did not recognize. Bullock was there as well, so I suspected that this was a Auror safe house that they had agreed on before they left this morning. I knew from my uncle that they had procedures when a mission went sideways.

"Well, fuck. I can't believe.." Bullock said sadly.

"My father went out the way he always wanted to. He and McKinnon both knew the risks. They will be honored for it, I'm sure. We can grieve later. We need to get the boy back to Lord Black first. Those bastards knew we were going to be there today, which means he has a mole in the Auror Office. This place won't be secure for long," Steapa said, looking around nervously.

While he was speaking, I had raced over to the fireplace and had Flooed my grandfather, who was sitting in his office when I called. He had only needed to look at me before he realized that something had happened. He immediately gave me permission to come through the Floo with the two Aurors. Once we arrived, Steapa wasted no time in explaining everything that had happened at Malfoy Manor, only leaving out any clues that his father had given about what the destroyed object had been.

"I am sorry to hear about your father. He was a good Auror and a hero. As was Auror McKinnon. I will personally make sure that the Ministry awards both of them Order of Merlins for their bravery. I cannot thank you enough for returning my heir home safely, which is more than my son can say," Arcturus said, a dark look appearing on his face at the mention of Orion. I think that little detail was the thing that pissed him off the most, if I had to guess.

"We were just doing our job, Lord Black. But I would ask that you would place my wife and infant son under your protection. We are both targets now, and I have no desire for my family to targeted for revenge," Steapa pleaded.

"I'll have them moved to one of my cottages immediately if that is what you desire. You are more than welcome to stay there with your family. It is under the Fidelius Charm, and I am the Secret-Keeper. It will be more than safe from the Dark Lord and his followers," Arcturus told him.

"Thank you, Lord Black," Steapa said gratefully.

Steapa then turned to Bullock. "I'm sorry, but I have to protect my family, Garfield. I can't do that right now while being an Auror," he said sorrowfully.

"I understand, Steapa. You have to do what is best for them. Alastor and Charlus will understand as well. You take care of yourself, my friend," Garfield said, embracing his fellow Auror.

"And I will make sure to explain to your brother what happened. I am sure that you will see him soon," Arcturus added.

"Thank you, Lord Black. I will never forget this. The House of Moody will stand with you and your Heir should you ever need us. I swear this on my life and magic, so mote be it," Steapa swore. A pulse of magic signified that it was a binding oath. And just like that, a powerful Auror pledged to ally with us. While not as powerful as his father or brother, I knew Steapa was an exceptional wizard. And he was extremely close to his younger brother, which meant Alastor would likely stand with his brother, depending on the circumstances.

Arcturus nodded at him in acceptance of his vow. Steapa then turned to me. "You got both power and guts, Krios. You saved our bacon back there, and both Garfield and I know it even if no one else ever does. You have the potential to be one of the most powerful wizards and leave a mark on the history books. And I have a feeling that you will be quite different from the powerhouse wizards that we have had in the last century. I am looking forward to seeing what you do. Good luck, Krios," he said, extending his hand.

"Thank you, Auror Moody," I responded, shaking his hand.

"You can call me, Steapa, Heir Black," he said with a smile, before he turned and stepped in the fireplace, called out his home and disappeared in a flash of green flame.

The next day, I discovered that Bullock had quit the Aurors and was hired as my personal bodyguard. He would be staying with me at Hogwarts as well, with his quarters located near the Slytherin dorms in the dungeons. A blazing row between myself and my grandfather had ensued, as I had no desire for a bodyguard. I felt it would be a major impediment to both my school and social life. We eventually managed to compromise, agreeing that Bullock would keep his distance and remain out of sight while keeping an eye on me. The Hogwarts staff had already been informed of my arrangements, so that was the best I could hope for at this point.

My father had been disowned and blasted off the family tree. He was banned from seeing us while we were wards of the House of Black, or until we reached the age of seventeen. He was exiled to one of our properties in Greece, a nice cottage on the beach far away from us. Sirius had failed to hide his glee upon seeing the blast mark on our family tree. In his defense, he vividly remembered both Orion and Walburga threatening to do that to him when he misbehaved over the years, so I could understand how he felt.

I was disappointed, as I had hoped my father would come around eventually. But his cowardice and refuse to change had doomed him in the eyes of our family in the end. I doubted that I would see him again, and I had no problems with that. Orion had gotten what he deserved in the end. Even Regulus had accepted that.

I had been labeled as a victim in the news, as I had watched Aurors and Death Eaters alike die as my mansion burned. No one besides my grandfather and the two surviving Aurors knew or suspected that I had a hand in the carnage, and I had no desire to tell them. It was the first life I had taken in either of my lives, and it weighed heavily on me despite the fact that he had murdered an Auror.

Martin Snyde had only been nineteen, the wealthy heir of House Snyde. He had been engaged to be married in the spring to the daughter of a wealthy German baron, who was reportedly furious about the loss of the alliance with House Snyde, but privately relieved that his daughter would not be marrying a Death Eater. The Snyde family was undoubtedly fuming, but could do nothing as their son was a murderer in the eyes of the Ministry and the Wizarding World.

I also did some quick research on the White Council that Arabor Moody had mentioned. They were warlocks that preferred not to use a wand, and lived by their own rules. They apparently were headquartered in Edinburgh somewhere. The Ministry didn't control them, despite the fact that they wished otherwise. If you asked them, they were a Ministry Department that worked with the Department of Mysteries in dealing with the deeper mysteries of the supernatural world.

Although this was technically true now, as most of their forces had been killed taking down a rather nasty warlock, Heinrich Kemmler, nearly ten years ago. There were only about a couple hundred left after that battle between the White Council and the Wardens, and and they were all preoccupied keeping tabs on the vampire courts and other dark creatures. The Unspeakables had been assisting them with that, as that was their main purpose. Only a small portion of their Department was researchers, apparently. But the Ministry still didn't completely control them, as they were scared shitless of the Senior Council. But they had been taxing them heavily for their help, making it very difficult for the White Council to break free from the Ministry since they were in debt.

As I began to prepare my return to Hogwarts, Steapa's words weighed heavily on me. He was right, I had no desire to be like Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Tom Riddle. But it got me thinking that I needed to evaluate my goals. Because I really needed to consider what kind of wizard I wanted to be.

**AN: Dresden Files fans rejoice, for it has joined my story. They won't be involved much with the war, as Kemmler did a lot more damage to their numbers in my story. It is also why the Unspeakables aren't taking on Voldemort, they are helping the White Council deal with things that most of the Wizarding World believes to be fairy tales. Even Voldemort believes the Fae to be a myth. Even if he did know of them, Voldemort is well known to abhor sharing power, so he would only make a deal with the Fae or demons unless he felt that he had no other choice or if he felt that he could control them. **

**For those who have not read the Dresden Files, I definitely recommend them. But it will not affect your ability to understand the story, as a majority of the storylines involved will take place much later in the story. Dresden is 15 right now, so Storm Front is still ten years away.**

**One Horocrux down, four to go. The locket, the cup, the diadem, and the ring are the only ones that have been made at this point. And with an ex-Auror bodyguard, Krios will undoubtedly look to deal with the diadem sooner rather than later. RIP Arabor Moody, (father of Alastor and Steapa), Martha McKinnon( Marlene's oldest sister), Grandpa Crabbe, Grandpa Goyle, and Martin Snyde( father of Merula Snyde, who will no longer exsist. Oops.)**

**Hope you enjoyed the update. Will cover Krios returning to Hogwarts, how he deals with the aftermath of the last month, and Quidditch. Take care and stay safe everyone!**


	7. Fame and Marriage Contracts

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or anything else you might recognize. **

**AN: life has been crazy lately, as kidney stones and my car being totaled by a likely drunk driver in a hit and run has been added to my personal list of problems. And don't even get me started on the issues in the U.S and California. Anyway, I'm on a paid vacation from my job for the next few days, and I am hoping to get out another chapter of this story and my Galactic Warriors story before my I go back. Thanks to all those who have left encouraging or constructive reviews. The flamers can go fuck themselves with a cactus. If you don't like it, don't read it. There are plenty of great stories on this site, and you can always write your own story. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

** BlueMapple- I'm sorry to hear that you are septical, but I am not sure what your infection or illness has to do with my story. Sounds awful though. Hope you get better!**

** JRZTT1258- Krios doesn't trust Dumbledore, so there will be some bashing of Dumbledore involved. They will definitely clash, and only time will tell if they can work together or not. They will never be friends, that is for certain. **

**October 31st, 1970**

**Narcissa POV**

**"**Narcissa, stop fidgeting. He'll be here," Andromeda hissed in my ear. The two of us were sitting together at the Slytherin table waiting for the Halloween feast to begin. And more importantly, for my cousin to return to Hogwarts. The one that saved me from eventually getting married to that prick Lucius. The two weeks we had been betrothed at Hogwarts had been awful, as had his advances. I would have been miserable with him.

But thanks to Krios, I was free of him. It was no secret to me or my sisters that Arcturus had no love for us, especially after what my parents did. We were just tools to grow the House of Black to greater heights. I was grateful that Krios did love us, and had looked out for us. He was the one that found the Lestrange contract for Bellatrix that would have doomed her to a life of slavery and mistreatment. Now, she was happily married to a good man and pregnant with child. I had no doubt that he would arrange the same for me and Andromeda if he was able. I knew Andromeda had plans to talk to him about that.

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, the doors of the Great Hall were flung open revealing none other then Krios Black.

"I'm back, bitches!" Krios shouted to some applause and laughter from the four tables, mostly from the redheaded Prewett twins at the Gryffindor table. Beside me, Andromeda groaned as I let out a sigh. He must have been spending too much time with Sirius at home.

"Mr. Black, ten points for Slytherin for your language," Professor McGonagall said with a disapproving look on her face. Her cause was not helped by the amused chuckles of Hagrid, Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick on her left.

"Sorry, Professor," Krios said, looking apologetic. This was proved to be insincere as he walked by the Gryffindor table with his hand outstretched. A small bag of gold was placed there by those demonic twins who had no doubt bet that he wouldn't do it. They didn't appear to be upset by that though, as they were undoubtedly amused by the disruption it caused. Even though McGonagall was staring daggers at them, undoubtedly annoyed that she couldn't punish them for that. Betting was entirely legal, and she couldn't prove that was what the bet was. Which is why the twins looked so damn smug.

"Welcome back, Mister Black. After the feast, please come by my office to discuss your new living arrangements," Professor Dumbledore told my cousin with a grandfatherly smile.

"Of course, Headmaster," Krios replied, returning his smile politely. He then sat down beside his friends, giving us a smile as he passed.

"Oh, when I get ahold of him.." Andromeda said, looking irritated. She wasn't the only one, either. Not only had he lost Slytherin points, he was acting as if he hadn't nearly been killed last week. We had both been terrified when we had heard about what had happened at Malfoy Manor. And while even those that wanted to join the Death Eaters had agreed that Krios had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I was terrified that they or Voldemort would change their minds and target my cousin. And I couldn't lose him.

**Krios POV **

"Ladies and gentlemen, here he is, the man of the hour, Krios Black, Heir Black and Lord of House Malfoy. He's survived Russian assassins, honor duels, and a Dark Lord. He's rich, he's single, and Kings want him to marry his daughters. Thank you for gracing us commoners with your presence my Lord, it is truly a honor," Eric announced as I made my way over to my friends.

Before I could respond to Eric's attempt at making light of my inability to stay away from dangerous circumstances, a fist flew past the face of Cyrus and connected with Eric's left shoulder.

"It's not funny, Eric! He could have died!" Ramona scolded him angrily.

"Ouch, alright, I was just messing around," Eric said defensively, rubbing his undoubtedly bruised shoulder. Ramona's father was a Muggle-born who had left the Wizarding World and became a MI6 Special Agent, and she had been taught to defend herself before coming to Hogwarts. And from the looks of it, she had been keeping up with her training. She knew exactly what kind of people that she shared a common room with, and knew that being the half-blood daughter of a Muggle-born wizard and a half-blood witch made her a target. I made a mental note to give her and a few of my other friends the chance to join me and Bullock in the training we had planned. They would undoubtedly need it soon enough.

"It's fine, Ramona. Seeing that Eric hasn't grown up at all is neither surprising or offensive to me," I said with a smirk. This comment caused some laughter as Eric spluttered protests over my dig at his inability to take things seriously.

My friends spent the rest of the meal updating me on the latest Hogwarts gossip and what they were learning in class. I knew that I wouldn't be asked about Voldemort and the Malfoys until we all returned to the common room. Slytherin needed to maintain a unified image in front of the other three Houses that currently didn't like them very much thanks to Voldemort claiming to be the Heir of Slytherin.

After the meal, I made my way to Dumbledore's office after assuring my friends that I would see them in the common room. I soon found myself in front of the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"_Lemon Meringue Pie_" I said, causing the gargoyle to move aside, as this was the password. I then made my way up the stairs. Dumbledore sat at his desk, with his Phoenix, Fawkes, perched nearby. His office was aligned with books and trinkets, but my eyes immediately searched for and found the portrait of my ancestor, former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black.

"Evening Grandpa Phineas," I greeted, knowing that it would undoubtedly irk Dumbledore to be ignored in favor of someone who was undoubtedly one of the worst Headmasters in Hogwarts History in his own office.

"Hello, Krios. How is my second favorite member of the House of Black this evening?" Phineas replied with a wide smile. He had immediately seen my slight for what it was, which undoubtedly raised his opinion of me. Especially considering I was now his second favorite Black and this was only the second time I had talked with his portrait, despite the fact that his other portrait had been moved to Black Manor after my mother had been confined there. But then again, Phineas had complained an awful lot about Dumbledore in that conversation.

"I am well, grandfather. I was just dropping by to discuss with the Headmaster about arranging for me to take up residence in the Lord's quarters, as I am now Lord Malfoy by right of conquest, as well as Heir Black. I do believe that I will be the youngest in Hogwarts history to reside there," I said, returning his wide smile with one of my own.

"You would be correct, congratulations my Lord. I have no doubt that the Headmaster will agree to give you what is rightfully owed to you," Phineas replied, glaring at Dumbledore as he did.

"I had no intention of denying him his request, Phineas, despite his age. I just wanted to discuss some things, as the rules regarding those quarters assume that the Lord is of age or betrothed. And the rules regarding the Lord's quarters for Heirs or Lords of families that are as ancient and powerful as the House of Black are rather frowned upon. And I have no doubt that Krios is aware of them. I am aware that you left a copy of the rules and regulations of Hogwarts with your son while you were Headmaster," Dumbledore said with a small sigh, giving Phineas a look of disapproval over his glasses as he did.

"And it was the best birthday present my grandfather has ever given me. Between that and becoming Lord Malfoy, thirteen is looking like it is going to be a year to remember. I had no idea some of the stuff in there was legal in the Wizarding World, let alone at Hogwarts," I said with a wide grin.

I had turned thirteen last week, on the 24th of October. And despite not being Lord Black yet, there was a loophole that allowed me to qualify for all the privileges that a Lord Black would at Hogwarts as I was a Lord of a pureblood house. Even though the Malfoys were not one of the families considered to be the Founding Twelve members of the British Wizarding World, as they were originally from France.

But the Blacks were one of the Founders, alongside the four founders of Hogwarts, House Bones, House Greengrass, House Longbottom, House Emrys, House Le Fay, House Peverell, and House Pendragon. House Emrys, House LeFay, House Ravenclaw, House Gryffindor, and House Pendragon were either extinct or its members were unaware of their inheritance. House Smith were descended from Helga Hufflepuff, but since the death of Lady Hepizabah Smith in the 1950's, no member of their rather extensive family had qualified for the title. House Slytherin had only had two lords since Salazar's son, the last in the 18th century. And the Peverell's had their descendants in the Potters and the Gaunts, but no one had either tried or been able to claim that seat in centuries.

Apparently, the Founding Twelve had some magic on their family rings that proved their status as the Lord of their House that kept their assets and political power safe from those who didn't deserve them. The standards for House Black, House Longbottom, House Bones, and House Greengrass were probably lower than the others, as those seats were filled more often than not in the Wizengamot.

"The last one to use those rules to his advantage ended up going too far and was thrown into Azkaban. I do not wish for you to bring the same fate on yourself," Dumbledore warned me.

"I appreciate your concern, Headmaster. But I am only thirteen, and I have no intention of taking advantage of most of those rules. I will probably be spending most of my nights in the Slytherin dorms until the school year ends anyway. But I think that we can both agree that the Silvanius Gaunt was not the most mentally stable of men. Only a complete idiot would try to use a love potion on a daughter of the Lord Bones to try and make her his consort. Not even the fact that his father Corvinus was only the second Lord Slytherin since the death of Salazar himself could protect him from the consequences of that stunt. Especially since the Lord Bones at the time was the Head of the Auror Department. He's lucky he died in Azkaban," I said with a slight grimace.

"Mental instability definitely played a part in the downfall of both Silvanius Gaunt and his descendants, and has caused many more problems since then," Dumbledore agreed wearily.

"And the last of them still is. I just hope that Tom Riddle can be dealt with soon enough. Anyone who entrusts something to one of his followers that reminds a Master Auror of something that belonged to Heinrich Kemmler is clearly beyond redemption," I said with a grimace.

"What?!" Dumbledore asked, paling in shock. My words had clearly shocked the Headmaster to the point that he had lost his composure in front of one of his students, and a Black at that. Not to mention the fact that I was aware of who Lord Voldemort really was, but he likely would assume that my grandfather had been told by someone who went to school with the Dark Lord or had made the connection somehow and had told me.

"Yeah. Moody freaked out a bit before he destroyed whatever it was. His reaction was something I will certainly never forget. Bullock even had my grandfather Obliviate the memory for him, it was apparently that bad," I said.

"Is it possible that you could show me the memory?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"I'm afraid that I cannot. It was Bullock's to begin with, so I don't have it. I have no idea what the artifact was, and I don't want to. Plus, my grandfather and Warlock McCoy told me not to share my memory of the event with anyone, especially you," I replied, inwardly smirking that I was going to be keeping Dumbledore in the dark. I was very interested in hearing his response, especially considering he had paled slightly at the mention of Ebenezer McCoy, the White Council's Chief Enforcer and Assasin.

"McCoy is involved?" Dumbledore asked with some surprise. There was no love lost between Albus Dumbledore and Ebenezer McCoy. After Albus had defeated Grindelwald, he had insisted on imprisoning him in Grindelwald's own personal fortress, Nurmengard. This was a spectacularly terrible idea for many reasons, as Grindelwald had powerful allies and was an exceptionally powerful necromancer. The White Council has been chasing Grindelwald at the time of the duel, and had argued for Grindelwald's immediate execution.

Dumbledore won the argument, mainly due to the fact that he now had the backing of the ICW and several Ministries of Magic that had shown up. Even though as a necromancer and ability to use wandless magic placed him under the White Council's jurisdiction, his use of a wand gave Dumbledore a legal argument to take control of his custody. It was an argument that had caused several problems between the wand-using wizards and the wandless wizards for years.

Taking Grindelwald by force would have cost the White Council too much, so they let Dumbledore take Grindelwald. Only, they didn't let the matter lie for long. As soon as Grindelwald stepped into Nurmengard in chains, Ebenezer used his Blackstaff to fly what was left of a defunct B-27 that had been shot down in Germany and that he had filled with explosives into the prison, killing Grindelwald and everyone else in it, including a few German Aurors.

Dumbledore knew that the Blackstaff and the White Council was behind it, but Kemmler was the one blamed for the incident, allegedly in order to keep Grindelwald from giving up information. And Dumbledore couldn't prove otherwise, and had allegedly held a grudge ever since. A grudge that was most certainly returned, as Dumbledore had arrived late with much needed ICW support during the final battle with Heinrich Kemmler in 1961.

They had managed to kill Kemmler for good after Dumbledore arrived, but the White Council had lost most of their people in the process. And neither McCoy or the White Council had ever forgotten or forgiven what Dumbledore's lateness, unintentional or not, had cost them that day. And they had gotten a small measure of revenge when they helped my grandfather get the votes necessary to remove Dumbledore from his positions as the Head of both the Wizengamot and the ICW. I doubt that Dumbledore had put that together until now, though.

"Yeah, as soon as Bullock showed the Lord Black the memory, he immediately contacted the White Council. They are the ones with jurisdiction on anything related to Kemmler. And they sent the Blackstaff. Apparently he is their point man for anything related to Kemmler. Lord Black seemed rather pleased by this, apparently they are rather close friends," I said, inwardly crowing about how badly this was affecting Dumbledore. He was obviously not pleased. At all.

"I see. Thank you Krios, you have given me much to think about. You may return to your new quarters, Professor Slughorn is waiting for you outside and will show you the way," Dumbledore said, maintaining his composure.

"Thank you, Headmaster, goodbye Lord Black," I said, nodding at the portrait. I quickly walked out before he realized he had forgotten to ask me what special privileges I would be taking advantage of. He was going to be annoyed when he found out that I had taken advantage of the rule that allowed me to have unlimited access to the Restricted Section, among other things.

Professor Slughorn was waiting for me when I reached the entrance of the Headmaster's office. We made small talk until we reached the seventh floor. To my surprise, the Lord's quarters were behind the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Which just happened to be across from the Room of Requirement. Needless to say, I was rather pleased with the arrangement.

"_Snickers," _Slughorn said, which caused the tapestry to swing open, revealing the room behind it. He then instructed me how to change the password, before leaving me to make myself at home.

While the room was a large room that reminded me of the rooms back at Black Manor, it was clear that I was likely the first Slytherin to use it. Red and gold decorated the room. Dumbledore had clearly meant to slight or influence me by giving me the quarters meant for a Lord that was a Gryffindor. Unfortunately, he had failed to bother me by doing so.

"Kreacher, Gremlin, Mipsy, Topsy, Binky," I called. My five House Elves appeared in front of me. I gotten three elves from the Malfoy estate. "Kreacher, check this place for monitoring charms and portraits and remove them if they are there. Gremlin, go to the kitchens and inform the House Elves there that this room is off limits to any elves besides the five of you. I know that you want to be the ones taking care of me. Mipsy and Binky , I want you to redecorate this place in a manner that suits me as Lord Malfoy and Heir Black. Make it look more like my room at home. Topsy, take me down to the Slytherin entrance in the dungeons. Afterwards, help with the decorating. Please let me know when you are finished," I told them.

"Yes, Master Krios," the answered in unison. With my room now in the process of being secured from the meddling Headmasters and any of his possible spies, Topsy popped me down to the dungeons. I sighed, knowing that I had a lot of questions that my housemates wanted answered. Ones that I had no desire to give.

"_Silver Fangs" _I said. The password revealed the passageway that led to the Slytherin common room. When I entered the common room itself, I was greeted by the majority of Slytherin House. It appeared only the first years had gone to bed. While I wasn't surprised, I had hoped that most of my housemates had gone to bed. But it appeared that everyone wanted to know what had happened, as the Daily Prophet had been very vague on the details of the attack, due to the lack of information they had been given.

"What!!?" I snapped at them, hopefully sounding as irritated as I was. It worked for the most part, clearing out the smarter members of my House out as they realized they weren't going to get any information from me tonight, or possibly ever. Hell, even Rosier, Lestrange, and the majority of the ones that I had pegged as wannabe Death Eaters cleared out and headed to bed, although it appeared that Rosier had been elected to sit partially hidden in the fifth-year stairwell in case the dumber members of our House pissed me off enough and caused me to give away anything.

A few moments later, the only ones remaining were the people I wanted to talk to (my cousins and friends), the ones that I needed to talk to (Steve Laughalot, Crabbe, and Goyle), the eavesdroppers (Rosier, the seventh year prefects, Umbridge, and Hopkirk to name a few) and the ones that wanted information they had no right to. This group included sixth year prefect Waldo Montague, his best friend Adam Macklebee, the burly fourth year Walden MacNair and his older brother Walder, third year Willard Macklebee, Derron Flint, and a few other upperclassmen that I didn't remember the names of. I sat down on the couch in the common room and waited for the first person to speak. To my surprise, it was Flint.

"Lord Malfoy, on behalf of the House of Flint, I would like to apologize for my family's part in the attack on Malfoy Manor. Please accept this gift as a peace offering between our two houses," Derron Flint said, placing a large sack of Galleons on the table in front of me. I was slightly surprised by this, as his father had been killed by Aurors in a raid on the Flint Manor the day after the attack. Though trying to kill Aurors while nursing a bad leg that made it difficult to walk was not the brightest idea in the world, so that may have hade something to do with it.

"On behalf of both House Malfoy and House Black, I accept your peace offering. The House of Flint is forgiven for its previous actions against the House of Malfoy," I replied formally.

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy," Derron said, smiling at me gratefully, before turning away and heading back up to his dorm.

This exchange seemed to give Montague and the others pause, as they were huddled together discussing something. So, Crabbe and Goyle were the next ones to approach me. The Crabbes and the Goyles had gotten into deep debt a century or so ago. And it was all owed to the Malfoys. The two families realized that they would never be able to repay the Malfoys in their lifetimes. Thus, a contract of eternal service had been drawn up. The Crabbes and the Goyles were tied to the Malfoys with a magical contract that ensured their loyalty and service to the House of Malfoy until the end of time or the extinction of their House. And because it was tied to the House and not the Malfoy family themselves, I had inherited the contract.

Because this was undoubtedly a sensitive subject for them, we quickly agreed to meet privately tomorrow morning in an abandoned classroom in the dungeons. I was unable to release them from the contract due to how it was written, so we would have to make the best of the situation. I had a feeling that they were relieved to be working for me instead of Lucius. Being forced to be friends to the blonde prat must have been exhausting.

During this time, Montague and the others left, all glaring at me slightly as they left. The Aurors had not yet tracked down the elder Macklebee, but they were hunting him. There was a warrant out for the arrest of Pollux and Cassiopeia Black as well, making them the first confirmed Death Eaters at large. Macklebee had been recognized by the Aurors after his mask was blown off by my Blasting Curse. And I could recognize Pollux anywhere. And anyone with more than a few brain cells could tell you that if Pollux was involved, Cassiopeia most certainly was. That bitch is crazy.

Once Laughalot had been convinced that I was prepared for the game next week against Hufflepuff, I headed up to my dorm, followed by my five friends and three cousins. Once we were there, I immediately took charge of the conversation.

"Alright, I am not going to get into the details about what happened at Malfoy Manor. I have no desire to relive the experience of watching someone being murdered or being burnt alive by Fiendfyre. If you could make sure that everyone else in Hogwarts is aware of that, it would be appreciated," I said firmly.

My friends and family paled slightly at my words. They were undoubtedly now fully realizing how awful the experience had been. "I'll make sure that makes its' way through the Hogwarts rumor mill," Adrianne promised, as she was someone who always had a knack for uncovering information and had made friends in all four houses that helped keep her informed. She didn't spread any false information though, and always checked her facts. I suspected that if she and Umbridge ever worked together, they could blackmail the entire Ministry and Wizengamot to dance to their tune. Thank Merlin they hated each other.

"We've got your back, Krios," Eric said with a serious look on his face. Hadrian and Cyrus both nodded in agreement.

"If you ever need to talk to someone about it, I'm here to listen," Sam said softly, putting her hand on my shoulder. Ramona nodded fervently beside her. Despite the fact that my friends were all ambitious and conniving at heart, I somehow got the feeling that they all meant it. They were good people. And while I am sure that they would undoubtedly use our friendship to get ahead in the future, I also knew that they would have my back. Although I had no intention of testing that by dragging them into any conflict with Voldemort and his ilk. I hoped that I could keep them safe by having them remain neutral, like their families currently were.

"Thank you all. You are all good friends, and I will never forget that," I said, smiling at them all. This got a smile from all of them, as they knew as well as I did how much my friendship would help them, especially after we were done with Hogwarts.

"Krios, could we talk as a family? Privately?" Andromeda asked. I studied her for a moment. She looked genuinely concerned about something. I nodded, and my five loyal friends vacated the room, although I did hear Hadrian grumble good-naturedly about being kicked out of his own room. Eric stayed with me, as he was family. Although judging by the glares Narcissa and Andromeda were giving him, they wanted him to leave too.

"Do you want me to leave too?" Eric asked, having noticed the twin glares he was getting.

"Yes", "No," the three of us said simultaneously. Eric looked rather unsure what to do, before deciding that the girls would likely hurt him if he stayed despite my protests. So he left after telling us it was fine, grinning at me as he left me to my fate, the traitor.

Andromeda immediately put up some silencing charms before shoving a piece of paper in my hands. "Read," she demanded. I was stunned, she had never acted like this before. I braced myself for bad news as I read the letter aloud.

"_Andromeda, I am writing to inform you that you have been betrothed to Rodolphus Lestrange and will be marrying him as soon as you receive your NEWTS next summer. I expect you to do your duty as a daughter of the House of Black when the time comes. Make sure you know how to please him properly. Rabastan Lestrange has volunteered to show you the ropes. _

_Lord Arcturus Black_

"What?!" Narcissa shrieked. Apparently she hadn't been told, either. I was stunned. I had never expected this. I had thought that Arcturus would never allow my cousins to marry a Lestrange after what happened. I knew that the Lestranges had the resources to tempt my grandfather into another betrothal contract, but I was shocked that he had accepted.

"I'm sorry, Andromeda. I had no idea he was planning this," I told her.

"I can't marry Rodolphus! He's a pig! And Rabastan is no better," she wailed, tears streaming down her face. Narcissa embraces her sister, trying to comfort her.

"I will make sure Rabastan won't even dare to touch you here. But there's nothing else I can do. I've already overstepped when I used that goodwill from becoming Lord Malfoy to make new arrangements for Narcissa, and even then I had to agree to marry Natalia and make her the Lady Black!" I said, throwing my hands up in frustration and defeat.

"What?" Narcissa snapped her head so quickly to look at me in shock I could've sworn I heard her neck crack.

"Yes, I managed to use the fact I had gained the position as the new Lord Malfoy to make a deal with my grandfather. He will no longer be the one in charge of arranging your marriage, that duty now falls to me. I don't want him forcing either of you girls to endure a bitter marriage to some asshole. I tried to get both of you girls freed in the deal, but he refused. He said he had already signed a betrothal contract for you. It explains why he didn't tell me who, he knew I would have fought him over it," I said, the last part rather bitterly.

Andromeda and Narcissa looked at me in shock. The idea that I had risked my grandfather's goodwill for them, something that was extremely valuable until I became Lord Black, had rendered them speechless. Such a thing was unheard of in the high-society circles we were a part of.

Narcissa embraced me and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you, Krios. I can't believe that you did that, sacrificing so much for me. I am eternally grateful. I know that I can trust you to ensure my future," Narcissa said softly, a tear of joy and relief falling down her face.

"You're my cousin. I will always look after my family. And it honestly isn't much of a sacrifice. Natalia is a sweet girl, and I can see myself being happy with her as my first wife. And the benefits our marriage brings are far too enormous to refuse. It was always going to happen. It was just sooner than I had hoped," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Thank you for protecting Narcissa. You have done so much for me and my sisters, and you have more than enough. I will do my duty. I knew in my heart that it was unlikely that all of the Black sisters got a happy ending," Andromeda said, tears still falling. There was a determination on her face, though. We all knew that Arcturus would find a way to make life extremely difficult for all of us if she didn't. But I silently vowed to look over the contract and try to get her out of it.

"_I really wish that this Quidditch game would take some of the attention off me, but that's not in the cards since I am the Seeker," _I thought to myself as I sat down for breakfast seven days after I returned. I had a Quidditch game to win in a hour, but I just wanted people to stop paying attention to me. I had no desire for anyone to notice the out of control hormones that I have been dealing with since I got back. Not getting caught eyeing the girls has been enough difficult.

It was my fault for not researching the runes I had used in the ritual properly. I was physically bigger, stronger and faster than a normal thirteen year old, which was good. But a heightened sex drive was a side effect of one of the runes I used in the ritual, something that I hadn't realized until the morning after I returned. I am extremely glad I know Occlumency and can control my desire to want to bend over and fuck the more attractive girls in Hogwarts senseless. Including my female friends and cousins, which is not good at all. Especially since I suspect that Narcissa has a small crush on me for getting her out of the clutches of Lucius Malfoy and the thirty year old German pureblood my grandfather had been planning to marry her off to. And even worse, the teachers have been paying more attention to me then usual.

Professor Kipling had looked like he wanted nothing more than to interrogate me about my encounter with Voldemort, but the looming presence of Auror Bullock in the castle and the warnings he had received from Dumbledore, McGonagall, and my grandfather were enough to deter him. Bullock warned me that he would not be deterred forever, and was only waiting for the fervor over the incident to die down a bit. Escaping the wrath of a Dark Lord at age twelve, even if he wasn't really trying to kill you, was apparently a big deal.

But he and the other members of the staff seemed to go out of their way to show their appreciation and relief that I had survived the encounter. I had racked up quite a few points for Slytherin. Even McGonagall had awarded me more points than usual when I answered a question right, something she never did for a Slytherin. And the other students didn't bother me, although there was some awe mixed in with their greetings these days. Something that didn't surprise me too much, all things considered.

Bullock had kept his distance from everyone besides me. He had been isolating himself outside of our rigorous training sessions in the Room of Requirement, where we could practice without any supervision from the staff. It also allowed me the chance to stealthily acquire Ravenclaw's Diadem, which was now sitting in my secure, personal vault in Gringotts, courtesy of my house elf Kreacher. I had made sure to leave a note with my account manager at Gringotts, a goblin named Bloodfist, to destroy the contents of the vault by any means necessary.

The goblin had been repulsed when he realized what Voldemort had done, and had written me a note saying that he was glad that I was intelligent enough to recognize that there was a curse on it, as most humans would have put it on. Apparently, I had impressed him with that, and was apparently flattered by the fact that I trusted that they could deal with it. Wizards spent far too much time looking down on goblins, and often failed to recognize that they were the best cursebreakers around.

My hunch that they knew things that wizards had long forgotten paid off, as they had managed to remove the soul shard without destroying the diadem. I now was in possession of a priceless artifact, despite the fact that it couldn't enhance your intelligence anymore. Voldemort's foul magics had made sure of that. But it was still the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. Although I intended to keep the fact that it was in my possession a secret for now.

I had no desire to make Voldemort suspect that I knew his secret. I was currently the only one who knew that, as Bullock, McCoy, and Arcturus hadn't figured out what exactly what the diary was, as it had been completely destroyed by the flames of Moody's Fiendfyre. Although Bullock told me that they had their suspicions, but they couldn't know for sure. Not without the diary. And the spells Arabor had used to identify were unidentifiable in the memory, giving them no leads as to what it was. They only knew that it belonged to Voldemort, as the name Tom Marvolo Riddle was a bit of giveaway to those who knew his real identity, which my grandfather did.

Bullock been a great teacher in our training sessions, and it was clear that he felt responsible for me and was grateful that I had avenged Martha. Apparently he and Martha McKinnon had been engaged. I suspected that he wouldn't be staying at Hogwarts for much longer, especially once her three younger siblings returned to Hogwarts after the funeral in tomorrow, which I would be attending. I owed her and her family that much.

I had realized after watching Bullock's memory of her death that she had been saving my life when she was killed. Pollux, a member of my own family, had aimed a killing curse at my back. He had gotten a clear shot from an angle somehow. But Martha had disarmed him, causing his curse to shoot into the sky instead. And this had allowed Snyde to catch her off-guard with his killing curse, ending her life. Pollux has been fumbling for his wand when I had killed Snyde and seriously injured Flint, so he had only assumed that Bullock was responsible.

To say my grandfather was furious when he saw that Pollux was definitely trying to kill me is like saying that water is wet. Pollux was now being hunted by every bounty hunter in Europe right now, as there was a five thousand galleon reward on his head, dead or alive. And in the meantime, I owed the McKinnons a life debt, something that I was not excited about. I don't like the idea of being indebted to anyone, but I knew the fate that awaited the McKinnons in the war, and I knew that I would have wanted to stop that, life debt or not. They did not deserve to be wiped out, and I would make sure that it didn't happen.

Lord Marcus McKinnon had once been the last of his line, but he had remedied that by marrying a Smith and having seven children. After Martha, there were two older boys that had already left Hogwarts. The oldest, Mark, was married and had a baby girl already, despite only being twenty years old. Then there was Susan, a sixth year Hufflepuff, George, a fourth year Gryffindor, and Hannah, a second year Puff who I had Charms and Herbology with. Though I hadn't spoken more then a few words to her despite my admiration for her sister. I vowed to change that. They also had a younger sister, Marlene, that would be starting next year.

Crabbe and Goyle had confirmed their loyalty to me and the House of Malfoy, and had ended up spending quite a bit of time with me and my friends in the common room after classes. Dunces they may be, but they were smart enough to understand that their futures were best served by working with me. Especially since there was no way for me to release them from the contract, as it was ironclad and had no loopholes. But they had both assured me that they were okay with that. They had never been raised or even allowed to think for themselves anyway.

They had both sworn a magical oath to never take the Dark Mark as well, something that they had insisted upon once I had told them how their fathers had died. Especially once I had suggested that the Dark artifact that was being destroyed had compulsion charms on it that had affected their decisions. Which was quite possible, considering the nature of the Horocrux diary. The thing was pure evil.

Just as I thought that, I noticed Eric nudging Hadrian with his shoulder out of the corner of my eye. "Look who's back," he said quietly, pointing at the doors of the Great Hall.

"The Hufflepuffs walking together into the great hall happened this morning, and every meal since the school was founded, Eric, hardly something to get excited about. Unless you have something you want to tell us," Hadrian said jokingly, having only taken a slight glance at the group. He was far too busy inhaling his breakfast. At least he swallowed before speaking, unlike a certain Bilius Weasley at the Gryffindor table.

"No, you prat, the McKinnons are back," Eric hissed at him in annoyance. I looked up in shock at that, having been halfway tuning out the conversation to that point. I had sent the McKinnons a letter before I went back to Hogwarts, giving them my condolences and acknowledging the life debt that I owed them, telling them that she had saved my life. Lord McKinnon had sent a reply, and had thanked me for the letter and acknowledged the debt. He assured me that he would speak to me at the funeral about the best way to settle it.

Life debts were a tricky thing, and no one wanted to owe one to someone. Since the one in debt could be asked for nearly anything in return for saving a life. Fortunately, an unselfish act was required to trigger a life debt, and you couldn't trick Magic into making someone owe you one. It was rare for someone to demand something outrageous for saving someone's life, as it was usually a kind and unselfish person doing the saving.

The worst recorded scenario of a life debt settlement was some guy taking the daughter of the man he saved as his wife a few hundred years ago or becoming a vassal to the Lord that saved them, which was more common. But McKinnon wouldn't dare to ask for something too outrageous. Making an enemy that no longer owes you anything is a bad idea, especially if the enemy is the House of Black. And my grandfather would make them pay if they went too far in their demands. I know for a fact that Lord McKinnon and Lord Black had been corresponding about settling the debt as quickly as possible.

But not only was the return of the McKinnons a morale boost for the Hufflepuffs, Susan McKinnon was the star Chaser for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team as well. And she had been playing with fellow Chasers Persia Fawcett and Caroline Dawson for two whole years now, this being their third. Hufflepuff had only missed winning the Quidditch Cup by ten points on an impressive catch of the Snitch by the Ravenclaw Seeker, Gregory Rochester, who had graduated and was now playing with Puddlemere United as a reserve. They were by far the favorites to win the Quidditch Cup this year, as they returned their entire team this year. It was also the last chance for their Captain, Persia Fawcett and their Keeper, Randolph Fawley, to win it.

I knew immediately that I had to get to the Snitch as quickly as possible. We had two new Chasers, and Flint was just recovering from the flu. Crabbe and Goyle were going to be as fine, as they weren't thinkers and would just hit the Bludgers around as he always did. Laughalot was an excellent keeper, but Fawcett was being scouted by multiple professional teams, as was Susan McKinnon and her roommate, sixth year Beater Margaret Jones. Hopefully, our Captain was up to the challenge.

**AN: I wanted to fit the Quidditch game into this chapter, but it didn't. Oh well. Dumbledore grows more suspicious of the activities of the House of Black, and is not excited about all the privileges and power Krios and his family are accumulating. There will be a Dumbledore POV giving more detail on that in one of the next two chapters, including more details on the workings of the power structure of the magical government from Dumbledore's viewpoint. I hope you enjoyed some of the details on history of the Wizarding World in my story, as it will be relevant in the future. And Ebenezer McCoy won't be involved for long. But the White Council will send a replacement, as they suspect that Voldemort studied under Kemmler before he died. More details on that in a couple chapters.**

**Voldemort is down two Horocruxes, thanks to the curse breakers of Gringotts. Although he doesn't know that, as it hasn't been a part of him for many years, and Gringotts has excellent wards preventing any backlash from Dark artifacts like that. Krios made a mistake in the ritual that has come back to bite him. The adult part of his brain from his previous life is suppressing his hormones, even though his new rooms and his status make sleeping around rather easy. He will do so, eventually. Sirius won't be the only ladies' man in the Black family. The Wizarding World is very open about sex, as Arcturus's letter shows. There's expectations there. Although this will not be a detailed smut fic. There will be very little details, if at all. I may write a more adult version of this fic on a site that doesn't have rules against it, but only if I get enough people that want me to. **

**And yes, Krios owes the McKinnons a life debt, since Martha saved his life. Although they won't be demanding a life or anything outrageous like Krios did with the Malfoys. Krios is not only innocent in her death, but he averaged her by killing Snyde, her murderer. Something that Lord McKinnon is certainly aware of. Martha and Arabor's funerals will be emotional events for those involved. And Krios is engaged! And so is Andromeda, who is scheduled to be married in the summer of 1972. The fallout of those announcements will be featured in the next chapter, as well as the funerals and the Quidditch game. I will have that out before the end of the month, hopefully sooner. Hope you enjoyed.**


	8. Blacks and Broomsticks

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or Dresden Files or anything from the DC universe **

**AN: Thanks for reading! And thanks to all of you who reviewed! Didn't quite get this chapter out before the end of July, but I came pretty close at least.**

**Sakura Lisel- you are right, it doesn't make sense. But it will :)**

**Silent Mayhem- I like the way you think lol. Andromeda isn't the type to do something like that though. Her family on the other hand...**

**Kyu9930- Your idea has merit and is very logical. Though assassinating the Lestranges, whose head is one of Voldemort's strongest and most loyal supporters, would have to be extremely well thought out over a period of time. Krios doesn't want Voldemort to butcher a bunch of innocents or go after his family in retaliation. And Voldemort is far more powerful and more aware of the Muggle world in this fic. So Krios will have to be careful. Krios is not worried about the Malfoys, as he's pretty sure that they won't survive Gotham. And the League does exist, as you will see in this chapter:) but they likely won't be showing up much **

**JustAnotherFan217- Thank you! And you'll see:)**

**RamDLC28- Harry Potter Wiki places Rita's birthday in 1951, making her nineteen at this point in my story.**

**Guest- We'll see:)**

**Abdur Rauf Aymaan- Yes, John is a nickname for Giovanni Zatara. I probably won't be using the nickname much due to the existence of John Constantine to avoid confusion. And nice job catching that reference. And we'll see:)**

**Krios POV **

"Susan, George, Hannah, may I speak to you privately?" I asked, walking to the Hufflepuff table where the McKinnons were sitting together. I had already gotten changed in my Slytherin Quidditch gear, and I had instructed Eric to watch my broom, the recently released Nimbus. 1001. It is a great broom, as well as the best available, and had just been released to the public last summer. The Hufflepuffs nearby tensed as I approached, eyeing me warily.

"Haven't you done enough?" Amos Diggory asked angrily from his seat nearby. That comment hurt me far more than I would have thought it would, even though it came from her complete prat of a boyfriend. I had no control over anything that happened. Martha had chosen to save me, I didn't force her to! But before I could reply, Susan spoke.

"Amos, enough! Krios didn't ask to be attacked by Dark Wizards in his own home," she snapped at him. This meant more to me than I could ever describe. She then turned to me. "Yes, you may," she told me. I smiled at her gratefully and nodded.

One of her roommates grabbed her arm and whispered to her urgently as she and her siblings stood. But Susan pulled away and shook her head. "It's fine, Maggie. I need answers, and Krios has them," she said. They then followed me into an abandoned classroom near the Great Hall. Unfortunately, it took some convincing to get Crabbe and Goyle to give me privacy.

**Susan POV**

"I'll be fine. If you have to, guard me outside the door. Stand there and make sure no one comes in, growl at anyone who looks at the door funny, just stay outside unless I call you!" Krios shouted rather irritably from outside the abandoned classroom we were meeting in. It appeared that he was not entirely pleased with the stooges that he had apparently inherited from Lucius. The theory that the Crabbes and Goyles were not much better than slaves to the House of Malfoy seemed to be true after all.

Krios Black then entered the room. Tall, dark, and handsome was definitely an apt description of the new Lord Malfoy and the Heir to the House of Black. And he had intense brown eyes that seemed to pierce your very soul.. "_Stop it Susan, you are not here to ogle a third year, no matter how handsome he is," _I mentally reprimanded myself.

"First off, let me just say how sorry I am for your loss. I considered Martha a friend for a long time. She used to babysit me and my cousin Eric when she was a rookie Auror, you know," Krios said sincerely.

"We know. She talked about it for months. She was so excited and honored to be trusted with the lives of both the son of her boss and the future Lord Black," I said, smiling sadly as I remembered her excitement over her rookie duties.

"My uncle's trust was definitely not misplaced, considering she disarmed Pollux before he could kill me. Then that cowardly scum Snyde shot a killing curse when her back was turned to him," Krios said, clenching his fists angrily. Hannah and I both gasped, and George growled in fury. Krios looked at us in surprise.

"Your father didn't tell you what happened? I sent him the memory of the fight. I know that he got it, and I was sure either he or Bullock would have told you," Krios asked us in surprise. I couldn't help but start to tear up at the mention of my parents. They had not reacted well to Martha's death, especially since my brother Dalton was now insisting on training to be an Auror and had vowed to bring Macklebee and Pollux in to face justice.

"Our father hadn't told us how it had happened, only that she had died trying to stop Voldemort from acquiring a Dark artifact. And I am pretty sure that he destroyed the memory as soon as he got it. My parents haven't been dealing well with losing her and the baby. My mother has always been fragile," I said tearfully.

A look of horror made its way onto Krios's face. "Baby?" he whispered, as if he was begging me not to confirm what he thought I was saying. But I couldn't.

"It was going to be her last mission. She hadn't even told her fiancé yet. They were getting married next week, and she thought this mission wasn't going to be too dangerous," I cried, not even bothering to stop the tears now. Hannah was sobbing as well, and George wasn't in much better shape. But none of that could possibly compare to how destroyed Krios looked. The news had certainly upset him.

"I am so sorry for your loss. I made sure all the funeral arrangements for Martha were paid for. If there is anything I can do, please let me know," Krios said softly, turning away so that we couldn't see his emotions. It was likely something that he had been taught from a young age.

"Thank you," I said, putting my arm on his shoulder to show how much it meant to me. He had undoubtedly scarred himself for life to avenge my sister, and that meant more than I could say. And the fact that he paid for the funeral showed how much honor he had. My thanks were echoed by my siblings.

"We probably should head back to the Great Hall before your boyfriend convinces people that you need to be saved from the scary Dark Wizard from Slytherin," Krios said jokingly while turning back to face us. This got a snort of laughter from my brother and a giggle from my sister. I just rolled my eyes and smiled slightly. We all silently agreed with a look that Krios Black was anything but a Dark Wizard.

"I am sorry about Amos. He's just..." I paused as I tried to find a way to describe my boyfriend of eight months. I loved him, I really did, but he was way out of line saying what he did to Krios. He could be a bit much sometimes. We walked out of the classroom and into the hallway and headed towards the Great Hall.

"An arrogant prat and a complete idiot. You and the rest of your team can play the best game of your life, but I will still beat him to the Snitch and make him look like an idiot while I do it. Slytherin is going to win today," Krios interjected with a cocky smirk that both irritated me and made my heart race. But I decided to focus on my irritation part, especially since my brother was currently nodding in agreement! And he had insulted my boyfriend and said we were going to lose!!

"Oh, really?" I said, raising my eyebrows and giving him a challenging glare as we walked into the Great Hall. There was no way that Amos would lose to this cocky second year! And there was no way in hell we were going to lose to Slytherin! Our team was way better than they were.

"I guarantee it. And I look forward to facing you on the pitch, my lady," he said, taking my hand and kissing it before doing the same to my sister and gave my brother a slight bow. My sister was blushing furiously, and I hoped I wasn't doing the same. But the voice of my irritated boyfriend dashed those hopes.

"Black, do you mind?" Amos asked angrily, glaring at the Black scion, who merely smirked at him.

"Not at all, Diggory. I wouldn't want to spoil your breakfast. I don't want to make you sick and make it _too_ easy to get the Snitch," Krios said, still wearing that infuriating cocky grin, and proceeded to turn around and walk back over towards the Slytherin table.

Amos growled and started to get up from the table. Fortunately, one of our teammates was sitting next to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't be a fool, Amos. Black is just baiting you and trying to get in your head. Let your play on the pitch do the talking," Randolph Fawley, our Keeper said. Amos sighed and sat down, knowing that Randolph was right. He nodded at the burly Keeper in thanks. But I was furious at Amos for acting the way he did. How dare he!

"It's unfortunate that it's too late to stop Amos from acting like a fool, though," I said, glaring at Amos angrily. Before he could retort, the owls came in with mail for the students. And the Daily Prophet headlines were definitely not going to get my boyfriend to calm down.

**Krios POV **

I made my way back to the Slytherin table and sat down in between Eric and Cyrus. Crabbe and Goyle had already sat down and started pigging out on their breakfasts. Eric grinned at me as I sat down.

"Well played," Eric said.

"Thanks," I said, grinning back. While it might be unfair engaging in a battle of wits with someone as unarmed as Amos Diggory was, it was still fun sometimes. The owls then flew in, bringing in the mail and the new. My owl, Lancelot, brought me two letters, one from my grandfather and the other from Natalia, as well as the paper. I didn't bother to look at them, deciding that I would read them after the match. I needed some breakfast.

Just as I had started eating my second piece of bacon, I heard a choking noise coming from a couple seats down. I looked up, and saw Adrianne choking on a piece of her food. Which was strange, because Adrianne was more proper with her table manners than any twelve year old I had met outside of Narcissa. A wave of Cyrus's wand cleared that up though. And then I noticed that a lot of people were staring at me.

"What? Did the twins do something to my food or something?" I asked in slight alarm. While it would be the first time they had done so to me, it wouldn't be the first time they had done it. The twins let out a scoff of mock outrage, as they had heard me at the Gryffindor table.

"Have you looked at the Prophet this morning, cuz? It's rather illuminating," Eric said, and the shit-eating grin on his face was a good sign that I wasn't going to like it. I opened up my copy of the Daily Prophet. Where my face was splattered alongside Princess Natalia Romanov. And Eric had decided that it was necessary to read the article out loud.

**_A Royal Engagement! Heir Krios Black marrying Princess Romanov_**

_by Carla Winger, Daily Prophet Senior Reporter_

_"It is my delight to announce that Lord Arcturus Black, Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, has confirmed in yesterday's Wizengamot session that his grandson and heir, our own Krios Black, thirteen year old Heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and the current Lord Malfoy, has been betrothed to the Princess Natalia Romanov of the Ancient and Most Noble Royal House of Romanov._

_"It is an honor and privilege to tie two of the Wizarding World's oldest and most powerful lines together. My grandson will be taking the Romanov name in accordance to the royal traditions of the Romanov family when they are of age and married. He will third in line for the crown in the absence of an heir for Prince Sergei," Lord Black proudly proclaimed to the astonishment of everyone assembled, including this reporter._

_When asked about the identity of the future of the House of Black and it's future Lady, Lord Black had this to say: "The future of the House of Black is very bright. Krios saved a Princess from a horrible fate, and now will receive her hand in marriage. He will be a Prince. And a Prince should get to choose his future wife, both for the House of Black and the House of Malfoy. He has proven his worth, and I know he will make the best decision for the future of our House."_

_That's right, folks. It will be Krios Black himself who will choose the future Lady Black and Lady Malfoy. Not only will the lucky lady be marrying a true hero, a real-life Knight in Shining Armor who saved a prince and a princess from assassination, but an actual prince. Who will manage to capture the love of this prince and become a Lady of a Noble House and a princess?_

As he stopped reading, the first thing I noticed that I currently had the attention of everyone in the Great Hall. A few of the males, such as Diggory and Montague, looked jealous. But the rest of the guys, including some of my friends, looked like they were in awe, which was kinda cool. Although the look of semi-reverence on a the faces of few of the younger Gryffindors was a little disturbing. But it was the girls that took it to a whole other level.

The girls that I knew were either betrothed or dating someone else seemed indifferent, but even a few of those, such as Susan McKinnon, were giving me thoughtful looks. And the most of the younger girls in the first, second, and third years were looking at me with adoration, which confirmed that I would be dealing with a lot of fan girls. Thankfully, the majority of them weren't in Slytherin.

But some of the unattached older girls were looking at me like a lion would look at a slab of meat, as if deciding the best way to eat it. I couldn't help but gulp nervously. I was screwed. Literally, if my increasingly out of control hormones had anything to say about it. "_Gramps really is a true Slytherin. And a sadist. This must be some kind of test to see how I handle pushy people and pressure," _I thought to myself.

Fortunately, Steve Laughalot, being the Quidditch obsessed nut that he is, had speed-eaten his breakfast and had left to start adjudging our game plan that he had in the scenario that Susan McKinnon had returned. And he had chosen that moment to return to the Great Hall.

"Alright, Slytherin team, let's go!" Steve shouted. I immediately took the chance to escape. I grabbed my broom and letters, and shot out of the Hall as fast as I could. As soon as I was out, I called Gremlin and had the House Elf take my letters to my quarters on the seventh floor. I had a feeling that they were going to be important. At this point, Crabbe and Goyle had caught up with me, so we headed down to the locker room together.

**Alphard Black POV**

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of my nephew running out of the hall like the devil was after him, when it was really only the two idiots that he had inherited from Lucius. I hadn't seen him run that fast since Sirius had gotten upset and used accidental magic to turn a toy that Krios and Eric had been playing with into a snapping turtle when they were children. Thankfully, the headmaster took that moment to get everyone's attention.

"Please remember that if you do decide to seduce young Mr. Black to use a contraceptive spell or potion. Madam Pomfrey has the potion available in the hospital wing if you don't know the spell, and I am sure that Professor Slughorn will make sure that she is fully stocked throughout the year," Albus said, causing Horace Slughorn to groan slightly at the realization that he just had gotten more work to do. Poppy Pomfrey wasn't at breakfast, along with Ogg, Hagrid, Cuthbert Binns, Argus Filch, and Silvanius Kettleburn. And I had no doubt that Poppy was going to be pissed.

"I have yet to have anyone get pregnant here at Hogwarts since I have become Headmaster, and if anyone decides to be the first, I will devote my time to making my displeasure known by making your life living hell. And I am sure the Lord Black would be very displeased with attempted line theft, and I can assure you that he will also make his displeasure known. I will say it again: no pregnancies! Now, off you go. Enjoy the game!" Dumbledore finished loudly. He then turned and walked away from the staff table, being hotly pursued by an undoubtedly irate Minerva McGonagall.

The students started to trickle out of the Great Hall as well, including an extremely confused Slytherin Quidditch Captain. He was currently trying to get one of his Chasers to explain what was going on. And since my little cousin Eric was far too busy trying to breathe while laughing uncontrollably, and Miss Vanity was currently crimson from blushing and unable to do much more than stammer, he had turned to Mr. Flint for help.

And judging by the quality of Mr. Flint's essays, it might take a while for them to work it out. I just hoped that they could pull it together in time for the game. As a former Chaser on the team during my time at Hogwarts, I was rather fond of the Slytherin House team. I had bet both Pomona Sprout and Travis Kipling ten galleons that Slytherin would win, and I did not want to have to deal with their smug looks for the rest of the year!

It was then Minerva returned from her unsuccessful attempt to corner Albus. The old man was harder to corner most of the students were. "That infuriating man! I cannot believe him! What on Earth was he thinking telling them that?!? We have enough problems with students violating broom cupboards already!" Minerva fumed. At this point, it was just Minerva, Filius, Travis, and myself seated in the Great Hall. All the other students had left the Great Hall already, as had the other members of the staff in order to keep the peace in the stands.

"He was probably thinking that trying to prevent teenagers from acting like teenagers is an exercise in futility. He's likely just trying to prevent the worst possible scenarios, ones that would have the Lord Black bring his wrath upon us and our students. I personally think that he did the right thing there," I said, taking a sip of my morning tea. The elves here really made an excellent tea.

"Aren't you worried about your nephew? He is only thirteen!" Minerva asked, undoubtedly surprised by lack of concern. But she didn't know Krios and Arcturus Black like I did. Everything Arcturus did was calculated, and I knew that Arcturus wouldn't have done this if he didn't think his Heir could handle it or had some sort of plan. Arcturus had told him in private that he couldn't have asked for a more capable Heir than Krios, and Arcturus wasn't a very complimentary person in general. And I couldn't help but agree with the man.

"No, not really. The kid is more intelligent than most adults I know. He can handle it, and Arcturus wouldn't have done what he did if he didn't think Krios could handle it. I can't wait for him to join my Ancient Runes class as one of his electives next year. He seems really interested in the subject. I missed having him in class this year, I really enjoyed teaching him last year in the mandatory Wizarding Traditions class," I said.

This brought a smile to the faces of Minerva and Filius, while Kipling just grunted in a grouchy form of acknowledgement. Krios was well-liked by almost all of the staff and was considered one of the most talented students they'd ever had. Only Binns and Kipling didn't have anything really nice to say about him out of all of his teachers. Binns was a ghost who didn't care about the students enough to do anything but try to drill facts into their heads, so he didn't count. And Kipling had some history with the House of Black that left him with an extreme dislike and wariness towards the majority of my family.

And to be fair, the man had acted rather professionally towards my nephew and nieces in our interactions. I wouldn't have blamed him in the slightest if he hadn't. What that insane bitch Lycoris had done to his face was bad enough. But what Orion had done in the summer of 1954 had been even worse, and was what made me decide to become a curse breaker not only because I had wanted to for a long time, but so I could leave England and my insane family forever.

Travis Kipling had two siblings. One was his younger brother, Ryan Kipling, a Squib who had moved to America with his mother, a Muggle who had divorced her husband in 1943, in Ryan's fifth year at Hogwarts. She had been unable to accept her husband's obsession with his job in Magical Law Enforcement as a reason for neglecting his family, and had left with her only non-magical child.

Two years later, his father died in the war against Grindelwald in the May of 1945, just two months before Travis graduated and three months before Grindelwald was defeated at the hands of Albus Dumbledore. Travis, assisted by an elderly aunt, then became the caretaker of his then seven year old sister, Sarella, known by most as Ella. The girl that became the love of my life and of the kindest people I have ever met. She was also one of four people I considered real friends at Hogwarts. The others were Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, and my roommate, Francis Pucey.

While Francis was my first friend and close confidant from the beginning, it was a friendly rivalry that began my friendships with Ella, Minerva, and Filius in our second year at Hogwarts. The four of us were considered the best and brightest in our year not long after we started Hogwarts in the fall of 1947. We were all in different houses, Minerva in Gryffindor, Filius in Ravenclaw, Ella in Hufflepuff, and I went to Slytherin like every Black had since the Founders built Hogwarts, with only two exceptions. And both Iola and Phineas Black had ended up disowned and blasted off the family tree in the late 19th century.

Despite being in different houses, we formed a study group during our second year and became fast friends. We bonded over our shared birthday month of October and our passion for studying the mysteries of magic. And in our fifth year, I fell in love with Ella and we started dating in our sixth year, despite the fact that her older brother was hunting my relatives, the insane dark witch Lycoris and her brother, Regulus, former lieutenants of Grindelwald now allied with Heinrich Kemmler.

The summer after we graduated, I learned the location of Regulus and Lycoris's hideout at a family dinner from a conversation between Arcturus and Orion. I found out afterwards that Arcturus had known that I was listening, as he felt that his brother and sister were out of control and needed to be brought to justice or put down. I did exactly what he had expected me to and told Travis where they were. The raid was successful, and both Lycoris and Regulus were captured. Travis had been severely injured, and two others on the ICW task force had been killed.

But while Arcturus quietly approved of my actions and the arrest of his siblings, Orion was irate. He had always been extremely close to his Uncle Regulus, and was apoplectic when he realized that I had undoubtedly been the one to betray them. And two weeks after they were arrested, he and a couple of thugs that he had been friends with at Hogwarts decided that I would pay for it while we were out for a stroll in the woods outside her family home in Scotland, where her brother was recovering from his injuries.

I had been planning to propose at sunrise, on the grassy field near a creek where she spent so much time as a child. But before I could, she had screamed at the appearance of three hooded figures. We managed to kill Orion's accomplices, but as I finished dispatching the second one, Orion shot a killing curse at Ella, ending her life. Orion Disapparated before I could retaliate, leaving her brother and I to mourn over her dead body.

The Black lawyers had made sure that Orion was able to escape spending any time in Azkaban in the subsequent trial, despite my testimony. The trial did shred Orion's reputation and ended his betrothal to a German pureblood heiress, as well as ensure that he would never become Lord Black. Only Walburga would marry him, as she was equally as undesirable, as my half-sister was born out of wedlock to a teenage mother who died giving birth to her when my father was thirteen. Also, Walburga always was rather unhinged.

I was brought out of my reminiscing by the voice of Minerva. "Yes, Krios is the only good thing to come from his father escaping justice all those years ago," my old friend said bitterly.

"His younger brothers are good kids as well. Those three, along with my three nieces, are going to change the world for the better. That's why I came back to England. Arcturus promised me a chance to right his mistakes and make sure that the House of Black becomes stronger in character as well as wealth and power. And while it is hard to be back at Hogwarts without her, I feel that we are getting closer to doing that," I said, smiling sadly. Minerva put her hand on my arm in comfort while Filius wiped away a tear, remembering the first student who showed him kindness despite his goblin ancestry.

"And yet, Orion and Pollux still walk free," Travis growled angrily. The years had not quenched his desire for revenge. A desire that I shared.And my father's attack on Malfoy Manor and his attempt on my nephew's life had made both of us furious. Attacks on children had always raised his blood pressure, and Krios is one of the only members of my family I actually like. Fortunately, I knew that my father wouldn't be allowed to live for much longer.

"My father won't be among the living for much longer. Arcturus is absolutely furious with him for trying to murder Krios. Apparently he doubled the bounty to 10,000 galleons for his head. Francis Pucey even told me he saw Jared Kincaid of all people in the Black Goose when he went in for a drink last night. Apparently he was there to inquire about the bounty. He was probably drinking too much though, Kincaid has to be dead by now. And he was the only one in the bar at the time so I can't confirm it. And the person that he was meeting with was wearing a hood, so Pucey doesn't know who it was," I said with a grimace.

My old friend had been through a rather nasty divorce three years ago when he caught his wife sleeping with their Squib butler, who happened to be Francis's cousin as well. Things got really bad when he found out that their then three year old daughter was the result of that affair as well. He had been drinking his life away in Knockturn Alley bars ever since, unable to handle the shame. And Lord Pucey, whose son was a second year Slytherin, had been unable to snap his brother out of it.

"I really hope Pucey was drinking too much that night. Kincaid is the equivalent of a Muggle boogeyman around the ICW. Hardly anyone talks about him, and no one knows what he did or why he is so scary. There are even crazy rumors that he is a half-demon wizard with ties to the Muggle World. I even heard one that said he is a an old friend of the mythical Ra's Al Ghul and was a member of the League of Shadows, which is ridiculous. There is even a protocol in place that everyone in the ICW knows about to call in all available ICW Hit wizards in via Portkey if anyone ever sees him," Travis said, looking slightly disturbed by the thought of someone existing that needed that much firepower to contain.

"Let's agree never to speak of this again. That is just too disturbing, and I wouldn't be surprised if Pucey had too much to drink that night. He really hasn't been the same since his divorce," I said after a moment of silence. They all quickly agreed, and started to head towards the Quidditch pitch. But my mind was not focused on the upcoming game, but how Voldemort might respond to the bounty on Pollux Black.

While he might take offense to Pollux's death, Voldemort did not yet have the resources to challenge Lord Black. Voldemort was more likely to let it go and try to pursue an alliance with the House of Black instead. While I doubted that Arcturus would accept, the old man had surprised me before. But either way, we all needed to be on guard.

"_Well then, I had better get started on that rune project I have been thinking about. We're probably going to need it," _I thought to myself grimly.

**Krios POV **

"Here comes the Slytherin team! Laughalot! Crabbe! Goyle! Flint! Vanity! Potter! Annnnd... Black!" Otto Bagman, the third year Gryffindor who was announcing the game shouted. He was also a Beater on the Gryffindor team. He also had a younger brother named Ludo who was the same age as Regulus. I wonder if they will both end up in Slytherin together in a couple of years.

"And here comes the Hufflepuff House Team! Fawley! Jones! Hooper! McKinnon! Dawson! Fawcett! And... Diggory!" Bagman shouted. I wondered briefly how that idiot managed to convince the staff that he should be allowed to announce a Slytherin game. But then I decided that I didn't care. Fawcett and Laughalot shook hands. Then, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and tossed the Quaffle, kicking off my first Quidditch match.

"Fawcett takes the Quaffle, and passes to McKinnon, who fakes.. and SCORES! 10-0 Hufflepuff!" Bagman said loudly through the magical megaphone seated in the announcers booth. And from that point on, it seemed like Hufflepuff could do no wrong, scoring eighteen goals while Slytherin could only manage to score five. It wasn't that my team was playing badly, because we weren't. Hufflepuff were just that good. They were clearly the better team, their Chasers being the difference makers with their flawless teamwork and skills. And Laughalot was actually playing pretty well, stopping at least half of their shots.

So I knew that I had to do something that I wasn't comfortable doing, despite my bravado earlier in front of the McKinnons. After all, the move I was thinking about doing hadn't even been invented yet. And according to the papers, the guy that was supposed to do so* was still sucking on his mother's tits."_Oh well, no guts, no glory," _I thought to myself, and sent my broom into a steep dive towards the pitch.

Amos fell for it hook, line, and sinker as he dove after me in pursuit of a Snitch that wasn't there. He pulled up alongside me as we plummeted towards the ground. And just before we hit the ground, I pulled up, hearing a number of screams and gasps from the crowd. Hooch blew her whistle, signaling a timeout. Madam Hooch flew down to tend to the groaning figure of Amos Diggory, who had crashed as I had intended. But the main cause of his distress was something that I had not expected.

"What an extraordinary feint by Krios Black! I can't believe what I just saw! Amos Diggory crashed as well, giving Krios time to look for the Snitch without interference, which is what I am sure was he was trying to do. And as a side note, it seems that we have confirmed that Amos Diggory does in fact have a stick up his ass as we suspected," Otto said in excitement, causing a roar of laughter from most of the crowd. I couldn't help but chuckle at that one,

"BAGMAN!!" McGonagall shouted from her seat in the announcer's booth, where she had been keeping an eye on her third year lion.

"Only calling the game how I see it, Professor," Bagman replied. I silently vowed to do something nice for Otto for that one. Absolutely hilarious and something that Amos was never going to live down once he woke up. He had passed out upon realizing that his broom was not only broken, but the handle had gotten lodged into his ass. I couldn't have imagined my revenge for his comments earlier being this sweet. Now I just needed to catch the Snitch against whoever their reserve Seeker was.

It turned out that their reserve Chaser, Katie Rogers would be coming into play to replace Diggory. She had been ready to play today before Susan's timely return, so that likely helped. But I knew that the drop off in skill between Diggory and Rogers was significant, so I expected that I would have a sizable advantage. The Hufflepuffs huddled around each other as Diggory was taken to the Hospital Wing, and Laughalot called us over to do the same.

"That was bloody brilliant, Krios!" Eric yelled, thumping me on the back as he flew up beside me on his broom.

"Yes it was, but we need to take advantage of it. Krios has got to get to the Snitch quickly. The Chasers are too good, and we need to get the Snitch before it's too late to win the game by catching it," Steve said nervously. He had a point. We were already down 130 points, and the Snitch was worth 150 points.

"I'll find it. Just hold them off as long as you can," I said determinedly. Hooch then blew her whistle, signaling that they were ready to resume the match. And just two minutes after the game resumed, I spotted the Snitch. And we were only down 140 points as I raced after it. Katie spotted it too late, and a few seconds later, I clasped the Snitch in my hand. But a split second before I did, Susan managed to score a goal, making it 200-200. It was a tie. And since the game is automatically over once the Snitch was caught, there were no tiebreakers. So, both Hufflepuff and Slytherin were credited with a win in the standings.

I managed to escape the field after congratulating the Hufflepuff team with the rest of my team, retreating to my private quarters on the seventh floor. While I had no doubt that there were several people wanting to congratulate me for the win, I needed to know what my grandfather and Natalia had written me about. I read Natalia's letter first. She seemed excited by the match from what I could tell, and looked forward to seeing me in person. I didn't realize how soon that would be until I read my grandfather's letter.

_Krios, as the soon to be Prince Romanov-Malfoy-Black, there are certain duties and information that you must be made aware of. You only have one life debt owed to you now, as you requested. The King was very pleased that you gave up your debt to the princess for a betrothal that was going to happen regardless. It was a good move that will benefit you in the future. I would suggest that you don't do that with the prince. I don't need to remind you how beneficial having the future King in our debt is. _

_One of the conditions for the betrothal is that you are required to go to Russia for ten months to learn what is required of a prince of Russia. You will be leaving after the funerals tomorrow. You will have private tutoring at the palace, and Bullock will be accompanying you for additional security. The Headmaster and the Department of Magical Education have already made arrangements for your end of the year testing. Your teachers were informed as well. It is imperative that you make the most of this time, and represent our house with dignity while getting to know your betrothed. I know that you will understand the benefits of this arrangement. You will see your friends and Hogwarts again in September. And don't worry about helping with the wedding arrangements over the summer. We have all the details taken care of, including the dress colors, which will be red. Don't tell anyone that though. Don't want to upset the bride._

_Lord Arcturus Black _

Well, damn. I had not expected that. I had no desire to go to Russia and learn how to be a prince. But I could see the benefits of doing so. It would endear me to the Wizarding population in Russia, as well as getting to spend time with the royal family while learning the ins and outs of their politics. And it would be a whole new culture to explore, and I had no doubt that the royal tutors had a lot to teach me about magic. It sounded like a fascinating prospect.

Not to mention the fact that I could avoid having to deal with the drama that was going to unfold with all the girls trying to seduce me. I had really been wanting to avoid losing my virginity as a second year. It was too soon to start dealing with that kind of thing. And I could put off dealing with any attempts at revenge from Diggory or the Slytherins that were still upset about what happened at Malfoy Manor. Also, not having to worry about a Dark Lord for ten months sounded really nice.

But there were downsides. Quidditch was one of them, but Pucey could play Chaser while Eric moved over to Seeker. I doubted that we would be able to win the Quidditch Cup with that lineup, but they would be competitive at least. So I wasn't too worried, and the team couldn't get too upset at me for doing my duty. Although Crabbe and Goyle might be upset that they couldn't come with me. I hoped that they were able to survive not having someone to order them around. And I would miss my friends and family for sure.

Although I couldn't help but grin at the coded message about the wedding. "_A red wedding. Should have known that Gramps had something planned. Letting the Lestranges get away with a Black bride after what they did isn't his style. We wipe out the Lestranges, leaving Andromeda as Lady Lestrange and free to marry whoever she wants. A win-win for everyone except Voldemort and the Lestranges," _I thought with a grin.

Andromeda would no doubt be furious when she found out, but the chance to get rid of three evil men and get the Lestrange title on top of it was worth it. Especially if Reinhardt had the cup in his Gringotts vault. This plan was completely necessary, although my reasoning was likely different from my grandfather's. Andromeda could not find out, as she was far too good of a person to go along with an assassination attempt like this.

"_I probably should go to the common room and let my friends know that I am leaving," _I thought to myself after I had finished digesting the letter. I instructed my house elves to pack up my things, as well as have Gremlin give my grandfather a note that I would do my duty to the House of Black. And that his wedding plans literally sounded bloody brilliant. I was not looking forward to my friend's reactions. They were not going to be happy.

I knew that the older students were likely celebrating in the common room with cigars, a few drinks, and a poker tournament. For some reason, Gryffindors celebrated like rowdy unsupervised teenagers and Slytherins partied like high class members of the Mafia. And yes, that includes the cutthroat competition involved. Do not play poker at Slytherin parties unless you are prepared to lose money, a lesson many younger Slytherins have to learn the hard way. There is a reason most of the upper years in Slytherin have learned basic healing spells.

I met Professor Slughorn, Steve, and all the prefects excluding Andromeda on my way down. Slughorn had been kind enough to inform them of my departure for me in order to make sure that the news didn't cause any problems when the news got out. Apparently they were supposed to keep an eye on me until I leave. Completely unnecessary, but I appreciated the gesture. Slughorn left shortly after the explanation, leaving me with the older students.

The conversation with Steve as we all walked towards the common room was short, since he had already processed my departure. I recommended Eric replace me and have Hadrian Pucey replace him at Chaser. He agreed, and patted me on the shoulder as we entered the common room. "Good luck, Krios," he said, before walking over towards his friends, who were playing poker in the corner. I walked over to the area where my friends were sitting. Crabbe and Goyle saw me from where they were sitting and followed me over.

"All hail the conquering hero," Eric said as I sat down, grinning broadly at me. I chuckled, which caused Samantha and Ramona to glare at me.

"What were you thinking when you pulled that stunt? You could have been seriously hurt," Ramona said, looking irritated at my aerobic maneuvers during the match.

"Nah, I had it completely under control as you saw. And it was totally worth seeing Diggory with his broomstick shoved up his ass," I said with a grin. That is definitely one of my favorite memories made at Hogwarts. Diggory has always been an ass since I got here. My comment causing all of my friends to either smile or laugh confirms that.

"Well next time, please inform us before you go off and do something like that. You almost gave me a heart attack," Narcissa complained as she came over and sat down with me and my friends. She also gave me the perfect opening to inform them of my plans.

"Well then, since you asked, I suppose I should tell you that I just found out that I am headed to Russia for the next ten months to learn how to be a prince. Going to live in a palace, have private tutors through the ICW, and get to know the princess and Russian politics. My grandfather wrote me this morning, and I just read it," I said, purposely hiding my excitement over the opportunity.

"Are you serious?" Hadrian asked, breaking the shocked silence caused by my statement. I briefly considered telling him that Sirius was my brother, but I decided against it. That joke had been way overused since Sirius had figured it out.

"Yeah. It's a pretty amazing opportunity. Don't worry, I will be back in September. And then you are stuck with me here until we graduate," I said with a grin.

"Oh well, at least we have that to look forward to," Cyrus said dryly, causing us all to laugh.

"It makes sense. You are going to be living there after Hogwarts, being a prince and all," Ramona said, looking rather sad.

"Yeah, but not all the time. I have a lot of business to mange here in Britain. I'll be around. And you guys will have a part to play in my future plans, I promise you that. I did promise you and Sam that I would provide the funds to start up your business, didn't I? It's not like I'm going to make an investment without making sure it succeeds," I told her.

The smiles that I received from my friends confirmed that I had said the right thing. It was natural for them to be afraid that I would leave them behind. But as long as they remained the good people that they were, I would never abandon them. It just wasn't something I was capable of doing. It was then that I realized that it was nearly curfew, and that I should get back to my private quarters. I wanted to sleep in them at least once before I left.

As I rounded the corner of the seventh floor corridor, the secret door leading to the Room of Requirement opened. And to my shock, out of it stepped my cousin Andromeda and Ted Tonks.

**AN: A betrothal confirmed and another in jeopardy. And Krios is headed to Russia to learn from the royal family after sticking it to Amos Diggory and getting a win in the books through a tie. He gets to temporarily escape the drama of Hogwarts and Wizarding Britain for ten months, but as you can see he isn't out of the woods just yet.**

**Alphard Black's past comes to light, as does the true depths of Orion's character. Alphard left Sirius his gold for a reason, just as Orion warded Grimmauld Place like he did for a reason. And Orion is doing the same to his cottage in Greece where he is exiled. And Pollux Black is in deep shit, as the depth of his betrayal and crimes are revealed. Will his and Orion's past crimes catch up to them? **

**In the next chapter Krios will confront Andromeda and Ted in attempt to get them to trust him and let things play out. Will he be forced to reveal the plan in order to convince them? If so, will he succeed in convincing Andromeda to become the future Lady Lestrange before marrying Ted? Or will they run off and leave the House of Black forever? Krios will then attend the funerals for Arabor Moody and Martha McKinnon and meet Lord McKinnon. Will he be able to settle the debt before before leaving for Russia? Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it!**


	9. Love Hurts

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or DC universe**

**AN: Thanks to all of you who read, reviewed, and followed/favorited this story. I appreciate your time. Hope you enjoy this update!**

**SilentMayhem- she should realize all of these points and trust her family, but you are forgetting that teenagers in love are not known for making wise decisions. We'll see if she makes the right decision in the end.**

**Hitesh90- I don't see how one mention of the Black Knight is adding Marvel to this story, but you are welcome to your opinion.**

**JustAnotherFan217- thank you! I appreciate it!**

**Mestre720- thank you!**

**Dark Angel Assassin's- well thought out theory, we'll see how it plays out :)**

**Raven R. Mahmood- thank you! Glad to bring something new to the table for you. And he'll have bad crap happen to him, but there will be good to balance it out.**

**Necromancy94- you'd think so, but magic is a fickle thing, especially when it comes to life debts. And you'll see how it all plays out in the next couple chapters.**

**Zero9933- I have plans for both Narcissa and Lily, you'll have to wait to see what they are :)**

**NobodyOwens5- thank you! I'm glad you like it! Glad you are looking forward to the sequel as well, it's gonna be epic.**

**Magical Fan18- Thank you! Appreciate it I'm glad you like it. Hope you continue to read and enjoy my story.**

**rainfallMyth- For sure:)**

**TehStorm- thank you!**

**BrotherCaptainSheperd- this is true, the Wizarding World is very insular. I have been planning to expand on that point a little in this chapter and in the chapters featuring Krios's time in Russia. There will also be more details on the royal family, especiall the princess in those chapters as well. I'm glad you like the pairing. And if you read Arcturus's letter from the last chapter closely, you will see that there is indeed a plan there. But even the best laid plans are subject to be changed... And yeah, Arcturus will never accept Ted as a husband for Andromeda, shit would hit the fan if that happens. Thanks for reading and reviewing, glad you like the story so far.**

**Nobels- thanks for the feedback. I know I can't please everyone but I appreciate you keeping your review positive and constructive.**

**Gusty Eagles- yes it's cringy but funny in my opinion lol. **

**Navn Ukjent- thanks, appreciate it**

**"_Love makes fools of us all, big and small." - William Makepeace Thackeray_**

**Andromeda POV**

I have been secretly dating Ted Tonks for almost a year now. He had been the one to comfort me after Krios had been badly hurt in Russia and we had been dating ever since. If my family or anyone in Slytherin found out that we were dating, I had no doubt that Ted would be killed without any evidence to suggest that he was anything but a missing person. But he didn't care. We had been paired up as Potions partners last year and had fallen in love.

Ted didn't care that my family was forcing me into a marriage with Rodolphus Lestrange. I had come to him in tears at our meeting place, a hidden room on the seventh floor tonight. We had found it when we were hiding from Filch in May, and it had become our spot ever since. He comforted me and reassured me that Krios may be leaving, but that Krios would make sure that I was protected from Rabastan. And that he knew a way to protect me from the Lestranges forever.

Ted then got on one knee and proposed to me, and asked me to marry him over the summer holidays. His family was rather wealthy, and Ted had kept up on his studies in the Muggle world. He had inherited a house from his eccentric uncle in Central City, Missouri* where we could stay. He even had been accepted to Central City University thanks to his family's connections. We could leave this prejudiced world behind while keeping our magic a secret until it was safe for them.

I didn't hesitate in saying yes. While I would miss my sisters and Krios, I couldn't imagine marrying anyone else. I knew that Lord Black would be furious and that I would be disowned. I knew that the Lestranges would be furious and might try to kill us. But that didn't matter. I know that the love that Ted and I share would triumph in the end. He was my first kiss, my first lover, and the love of my life. I felt complete when he slipped my diamond engagement ring on my finger.

We then made love to celebrate. The room seemed to know what we needed, as there was a bed nearby. I have always wondered what this room really was capable of, but had never gotten the chance to investigate. I preferred to cherish my time alone with Ted, especially after acting like we barely got along the rest of the week As we lay there basking in the aftermath of our lovemaking, Ted suddenly sat up and stretched.

"It's almost curfew. We should probably head out, I told McKinnon that I would cover for her tonight. It's a good thing that my patrolling partner for tonight is also my fiancé," Ted said with a teasing smile.

"Prat," I said, swatting his shoulder lightly with a smile on my face. I was so glad we were both prefects. And it helped that Susan was a good friend of Ted's and often switched shifts so that we could be paired together. She, Narcissa, and Ted's best friend Jack Norrington were the only ones that knew that we were dating. Susan was even keeping it a secret from her prat of a boyfriend. She deserved better than Amos Diggory.

Amos had never been able to get over his jealousy of Ted when he was chosen as a prefect over him. I can't imagine how Ted has survived rooming with arrogant prats like Diggory, Terrance Smith, and Brian Threadwell for the last six years. It was fortunate that he had Jack. I only had that vapid, prissy bitch Vandelle and her two hanger-ons left in my dorm. Lucretia had been the only decent Slytherin girl in my year, and we had developed a tentative friendship before she left. She didn't deserve to share the fate of her awful family. At least I had made some good friends in Ravenclaw.

We got dressed and freshened up a bit before we made our way out of the room. I put a powerful Disillusionment Charm on the ring, making sure that no one else would be able to see it. Only Ted would know that it was there. As we stepped out, I saw Ted stiffen in alarm. I turned my head to see one of the last people I wanted to find out about me and Ted. My cousin Krios.

It would be easy to convince anyone else that would cause problems about our relationship that we had discovered a passageway while on patrol. Secret passageways that appeared and disappeared all the time at Hogwarts, so no one would think twice about it. And we could find away around someone knowing about the room for future meetings. But Krios was another story.

He had been taught from a young age by Lord Black how to read even the most seasoned politicians and discern facts from conversations. He was a natural Occlumens, making him impossible to read without a powerful and direct Legilemency attack on his mind. So while he couldn't read minds, he was good at reading people. And he knew me better than anyone in my family, except Narcissa. But Narcissa already knew, and had kept it a secret, despite her vocal disapproval. I wasn't sure Krios would do the same. He has always been rather overprotective of me and my sisters.

Krios strode towards us, his face expressionless. "Hey Dromeda. I had been wondering where you were? On patrol tonight?" he asked. Ted relaxed slightly beside me. Krios didn't suspect a thing.

"Yes, we just started. Better get back to the dungeons, it's almost past curfew," I said with a small smile.

"Don't need to, my room is hidden nearby, remember? Being a Lord has its moments," Krios said with a smirk. I had forgotten about that, the lucky little bugger. What I wouldn't give for my own room.

"Honks, right?" Krios said to my fiancé who stiffened at the butchering of his name. I grimaced. If that wasn't intentional, I would eat a flobberworm. Krios knew who all the prefects were. Shafiq was a notorious gossip and a goldmine of information, and I knew Krios listened to her when she talked. I've lost count of how many times my cousin has said "knowledge is power." He was just being an asshole for some reason.

"It's Tonks, actually," Ted said, gritting his teeth at the insult.

"Right. I need to borrow my cousin for a while. House of Black business. I hope you don't mind finishing your patrols by yourself, I'm sure they wouldn't have made you a prefect if you weren't capable of holding your own," Krios said, smirking slightly at him. I held back a groan at the veiled barbs that were buried in that comment. I had often heard similar comments at the fancy dinner parties we occasionally attended. Why my cousin was being a Slytherin lordling right now was beyond me.

"That's fine. I'll meet up with you later, Andromeda," Ted said stiffly. I sighed and nodded, before turning around to walk towards my cousin's quarters. As I did, I saw Ted trip over his robes as he walked away from my cousin. And out of his robe pockets fell the box that had held the diamond engagement ring that he had given me. Krios stiffened, and picked up the box. He opened it, and then looked at me in shock. I knew my face would tell him all he needed to know, and the furious look on his face confirmed it.

"_Expelliarmus," _Krios said, disarming Ted who had pulled his wand instinctively when he realized that they had been found out. I pulled my wand to defend Ted, only to be disarmed as well. And I knew then that we were in trouble.

"Both of you, with me. Now," Krios said coldly, pointing his wand at my fiancé and pointing my wand at me with his other hand, having put Ted's wand in his robes. We slowly walked towards Krios's room, with Krios walking behind us with his wand at the ready.

**Krios POV**

I had not expected this. I had suspected that Andromeda had been up to something for months, but I had ignored it. And when I saw them, I had planned on letting it go after a few barbs, a veiled warning to Andromeda, and a tripping hex. Hopefully my attitude would make them make them think about what they were doing and keep them from doing anything stupid before I got back from Russia. Apparently I was too late.

Now I had to do damage control, which was the last thing I wanted to do on my last night of my second year of Hogwarts. All I wanted was have a short conversation with Andromeda to reassure her that I had a plan to deal with the Lestranges. Instead I have to deal with this shit and try to get them to put an end to this nonsense. If they didn't, the Lestranges or Arcturus would undoubtedly kill Ted, and possibly Andromeda as well.

**Ted Tonks POV**

Everything had been going so well. I had proposed to the girl of my dreams and got engaged. I had even convinced my father over the summer to accept the lucrative job offer in Central City. It was not only in order to keep them safe from the war here, but because it was an amazing opportunity. An old friend of my father's had just moved his company's research facility to Central City from Gotham City. He wanted my father, a well-respected biochemist, to lead the research facility that would be based there.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't need to do much to convince him to take the offer. We all missed America, as we were all born there. My grandparents are there as well. We moved to England when my father got a research job as a Biochemistry job at Cambridge University when I was seven. I got my acceptance letter to Hogwarts four years later, and the rest is history.

I intend to leave Hogwarts at the end of the year. It has become clear to me that I have no future in the Wizarding World outside of getting killed for being born to parents without magic. Fortunately, I realized that this world was prejudiced early on and made a plan in case I couldn't get a decent job in the Wizarding World because of my non-magical family.

I had kept up with my studies in the real world, and will be graduating from high school in the summer. I will then follow my parents to Central City to attend Central City University, where I will get my degree in business. And I have a standing offer to work in the financial department for my my father's friend's company once I finish school, as he was my godfather. I knew I would be able to live comfortably in Central City, as the pay at my godfather's company was excellent.

And Andi had agreed to go with me as my wife. Something that I still couldn't believe had had happened. When I had first become interested in her in the beginning of our fourth year, I had told Jack that I was going to ask her to Hogsmeade. He had laughed at me, due to the fact that he thought I was joking. When he realized I was serious, he told me that I had no chance.

Jack Norrington was a half-blood from a Wizarding family that had been founded in the thirteenth century. They had made a fortune in the trading and shipping industries during the first four centuries after they were founded, and had invested that wealth well enough to still be well-off, and their family had a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot centuries ago.

But despite their wealth, they were looked down upon in the Wizarding World due to frequently marrying normals and occasionally giving up their magic to leave the magical world so they could live in the real one. A lot of children of those Norringtons ended up as Squibs and became rather famous after leaving the non-magical world, such as Jack's great-great uncle, Sir Arthur Norrington. Jack once mentioned that there was even an Squib that became an Admiral in the Royal Navy in his family tree somewhere.

So when Jack told me that no witch or wizard born in a Muggle family had married a Black in written history, he knew what he was talking about. But I didn't listen to Jack, and I asked her out in January of last year. We had been dating ever since. And while I loved Andromeda and had no regrets, I was beginning to become really concerned that I wasn't going to survive the wrath of the House of Black.

We arrived at the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy moments later. "_Hyperion_," Krios said, causing the tapestry to swing open, revealing a passageway. Krios then motioned for us to go in with his wand, which was still pointed at my back. We walked in, with the door behind closing with an ominous thud. It was a really nice room, with the fireplace crackling and two chairs and a nice couch placed in front of it. Krios motioned for us to sit down on the couch, which we did.

"Andromeda, what have you done? Do you have any idea what Arcturus is truly capable of, especially with the Lestranges involved? Do you have any idea how much danger you have put yourselves in?" Krios asked his cousin, glaring at us angrily as he spoke.

"Krios, please! You can't tell anyone! I love Ted, and he loves me. We're getting married and moving to America in the summer. We'll be safe there, and Ted has a job and everything!" Andromeda pleaded, grabbing my hand and clasping it as she did.

"Andi, Rabastan already suspects you are seeing someone, as I had. While I was willing to ignore it as long as it was discrete, Rabastan will not. He is watching you, and he now suspects that it is a prefect, thanks to Montague. They have already narrowed it down to Tonks and Wallington in Ravenclaw, with Wallington the most likely suspect since you spend a lot of time with the Ravenclaw girls. They have noticed that you two are friendly though, and they will figure it out sooner or later," Krios informed them, his anger lessening slightly.

"You knew?" I asked in surprise. I had figured that Krios would have castrated me if he had known that we were dating.

"I started suspecting something was up over the summer by the amount of letters Andi was sending. When you have a cousin who sends maybe four letters on average over summer, it is rather noticeable when her owl is almost always gone. Even Arcturus noticed, which is why I didn't investigate. I had told him that it was probably your new friends in Ravenclaw, and that it wasn't anything to worry about. And if I started investigating, he would know and would start intercepting your mail, which would have ended badly," Krios explained.

Andromeda looked as stunned as I felt. Neither of us had even considered that her family outside of Narcissa would notice that. Andromeda had once told me that her social life was beneath her family's notice. Apparently she was wrong about that.

"And I haven't had the time to investigate since we got back to Hogwarts. I don't know if you noticed, but I have been rather busy the last three months," Krios said dryly.

I couldn't help but snort at that sarcastic comment as Andromeda let out a long-suffering sigh, There might be a few wizards living under a rock somewhere in an isolated corner of the world that hadn't heard about what had happened to the Malfoys and his engagement to the princess. As insulated as the Wizarding World was, the end of an old and prestigious line like Malfoy and the engagement between the Russian princess and the Black Heir was front page news internationally from what Andromeda told me.

Apparently the dowry that the Lestranges were paying to marry into the Blacks after hearing about Krios's engagement was rather substantial. Apparently Lestrange had screwed up a betrothal with the Blacks last year and had to give up quite a lot to convince Arcturus Black to agree to the betrothal. I've been told that the business opportunities that would come from Andromeda marrying Rodolphus would make the Lestranges richer than ever before. It was still mind-boggling how backwards the Wizarding World was sometimes. I couldn't wait to leave it all behind.

"Yeah, figured you hadn't missed that. But getting back to the problem at hand, Rabastan will have it figured out soon, likely by the end of the month. And it'll be a fucking mess when he does," Krios said with a grimace.

"Language," Andromeda scolded, causing Krios to glare at her in anger.

"Andromeda, considering I am likely the only thing that is standing between you and certain death, I will swear as much as I fucking want to. This is the last thing I need to deal with right now after everything I have and will be dealing with. And now my ass is on the line as well. I risk everything if I keep this a secret, as you well know," Krios said coldly.

I felt the blood leave my face at his statement. Krios may be a good person, but he was a Slytherin, and an extremely ambitious one at that. I watched as Krios's expression shifted from conflicted to determined. And then he raised his wand and everything went dark.

**Krios POV**

I sighed as I looked at the unconscious forms of Andromeda and Ted. This was by far the most difficult decision of my life here so far. Especially

since I have a feeling that my grandfather may be hesitant to completely wipe out the last members of an old pureblood family despite his anger, and the marriage has its benefits for our family. So Rodolpus and Rabastan were likely safe at least until Andromeda had a Lestrange heir. Which makes this decision even more difficult, as it gave me multiple scenarios to consider.

If I was sure that my grandfather was planning on wiping all of the Lestranges out, leaving us with Andromeda as Lady Lestrange, I would let Ted go tonight unscathed after getting a vow that he and Andromeda would wait until after the Lestrange wedding. Convincing them that I had found a loophole that would annul her marriage and allow them to live their lives in peace was definitely something I could do. I knew Andromeda didn't want to be completely cut off from us.

Andromeda then could marry him after she had officially become Lady Lestrange. As head of a old pureblood line, she could marry Ted without having to cut out her family. We would have to see her at formal events, and I could work that to our advantage down the road as far as her relationships with our family. Keeping the Lestranges as allies would likely be more important to my grandfather then her marriage to a muggleborn.

And if she decided to leave the Wizarding World behind with Ted for the Muggle one, she would be forced to name a proxy for her holdings, including the Lestrange seat in the Wizengamot. Which would undoubtedly be me, seeing as I had been the one that had ensured her relationship had survived. I was certain that I could place the blame on my grandfather for the death of the Lestranges, leaving me in the clear and in charge of another title and seat in the Wizengamot. This was definitely the option I liked the most.

But I couldn't guarantee the death of all the Lestranges until I talked with my grandfather. So I hastily scribbled a note. _"Do the sins of the father become the sins of his sons, or will their blood spare them?" _I then summoned Gremlin to take it to my grandfather, and told him to wait for a reply. While I waited, I bound Andromeda and Ted. I couldn't have them waking up and escaping. As I finished, Gremlin popped back into my room with a stack of documents. There was a note pinned to the top of them.

"_The plans have changed. Lord Lestrange has made arrangements to marry Rabastan to a rich Greek heiress from a pureblood family known for their fertility. They will be married after Rabastan finishes his OWLS in the summer. Lord Lestrange has also agreed to abdicate his Lordship in five years to Rodolphus in exchange for moving the wedding to this coming June, two days after the end of the term at Hogwarts. I had just finished meeting with him when your note arrived. The wedding will now go through with no problems for anyone. Please inform Andromeda of this, as the announcement will be in the Prophet tomorrow morning. Feel free to read your copy of the betrothal contracts for both you and Andromeda. You will need to know how to word them in the future."_

Damn. Apparently Lestrange is smarter than I thought. Although I suppose paranoia and good business sense do usually go hand in hand. And there was no doubt that Reinhardt Lestrange is a good businessman, despite his underhanded dealings and being a despicable human being in general. I honestly think that he would be awful even without Tom Riddle's influence.

I decided to read my betrothal contract first. The dowry was a bit higher than I expected, but I'm not too surprised at that. I am getting married to a princess after all. Everything else in the contract is pretty straightforward and nothing that was considered uncommon outside of the settled life debt between myself and Natalia. Our families were now officially allies, and the contract made sure that neither of our families could intentional and fatal harm the other.

I am slightly nervous at the idea of getting married to be honest, especially knowing I will have to do so three times. I hadn't been married in my past life, so this is new territory for me. And despite being a child myself, my mind was significantly older than my body. So the idea of marrying someone closer to my physical age is something that I am not totally completely with. But it needed to be done in order to make sure that my family and the Wizarding World survived the trials to come.

Andromeda's contract was worded rather similarly to mine, with only a couple differences. Neither Andromeda or Rodolphus were allowed to try to kill each other. All current and future Lord Blacks were forbidden to take any action to kill any members of the Lestrange family as long as Andromeda and her children were alive, and the Lestranges were forbidden to kill any members of the Black family. This kind of alliance was not uncommon in the Wizarding World, especially when arranging marriages. But attaching the rules to the future Heads of House was rare, and was usually reserved for families older and more prestigious than the Lestranges.

The marriage contract also guaranteed that Voldemort would't attack our family in retaliation for the imminent death of Pollux Black and would leave our family alone if we continued to officially remain neutral and stay out of the coming conflict. Apparently, Voldemort didn't want anymore problems with the House of Black. That was undoubtedly what sealed the deal for my grandfather, as it gave him time to plan for the inevitable conflict between Voldemort and the Ministry. I couldn't help but be surprised that Voldemort agreed to this.

The Pollux Black part wasn't too surprising, as he had screwed up royally by trying to kill me. I doubt Voldemort had wanted to have me killed just yet. I'm a rich pureblood heir young enough to change my mind on Voldemort, and far too valuable. But agreeing to a truce with us was definitely a surprise, as I thought Voldemort's ego wouldn't allow him to agree to such a thing. Either Lestrange had given these terms without Voldemort's permission, or Voldemort was a lot cleverer than I thought, which was a very disturbing idea.

Voldemort aside, it is clear that Lord Lestrange was extremely determined to bind our families together, considering the money involved and that he had likely gotten a temperamental egomaniac like Voldemort to agree to a truce. That took serious balls, and I couldn't help but be slightly impressed with him for it. As I neared the end of the contract, I found the reason why he was risking so much, despite the dowry amount being a lower amount than usual.

It appears that Lord Lestrange has been very busy making business deals recently. From what I understand, his alliance with my family will guarantee him some lucrative business deals that will make the Lestranges one of the ten richest Wizarding families in Europe. I am sure a lot of it will go towards funding Voldemort's activities. Terrorist operations are expensive, after all. And with the death of Abraxas and the loss of the his funds, Voldemort undoubtedly needed more financial backing. Which explained Voldemort agreeing to the truce.

After I had finished reading both contracts, I started considering how could I best protect Andromeda in this situation without risking everything. My grandfather's message and some of the terms of the contract had thrown all my most viable plans out the window, including my long-term plan of searching the Lestrange vault for the cup, which was a huge blow. Now I only had four options left to deal with this situation.

Option number one was to have Ted killed in order to make sure that the wedding went as planned. Option number two was to break them up for the same reason. Option number three was to let my cousin leave the Wizarding World and her family to marry Ted and live in the Muggle world. Option number four was the riskiest, as it would require me to hold Ted prisoner until the wedding reception. I would hire assassins to kill the Lestranges, leaving Andromeda as the widowed Lady Lestrange. She could then marry Ted with the political clout to survive the backlash from marrying a Muggleborn.

Option number one was repulsive to me for a few reasons. For one, it would destroy Andromeda and would undoubtedly end any relationship between us if I got caught. I don't mind killing evil shit stains that join the Death Eaters like Rodolphus Lestrange who enjoy hurting others. Breaking them up would be difficult to do in one night, although that was definitely an option to consider trying first. Ted is a good man, so I could possibly convince him of the danger he was in. He could also be useful to me as a contact in the Muggle World, making options number two and three appealing to me.

Option number four was my personal favorite, as it allowed me to achieve my personal goals as well as allow everyone to live happily ever after. Except for the Lestranges of course, but their deaths would certainly make the world a better place. However, that option had a lot of variables and carried a lot of risk. A lot could go wrong, and any mistake on my part or that of the assassins could put me in the crosshairs of three powerful wizards.

Voldemort would be furious over the death of three of his most loyal followers, Arcturus would be angry that I defied his orders and allowed Andromeda to marry a Muggleborn, and Dumbledore would be upset that I hired assassins to kill a family for personal gain. Not to mention the majority of the Wizarding World would likely want my head on a plate as well. I would definitely be spending the rest of my life in Azkaban, and that was if I was lucky.

I decided to discard option number four immediately, as the risk was far too great, even with the rewards it would bring. Even if I hired someone competent like Kincaid or someone from the League of Assassins, there was no guarantee that I would be able to cover my tracks well enough. Especially since me and my grandfather would be the obvious guilty parties, as we have the most to gain. And my strong relationships with my cousins is no secret. And organizing something like that while on another continent would be next to impossible, especially under the watchful eyes of the Royal family and my cousin Bellatrix.

Option number one was an option I absolutely hated. But I couldn't deny that it was a practical one. It would allow my family to be protected from the Dark Lord for the rest of my time at Hogwarts, giving me and Arcturus time to gain strength and make plans. Option number three had a lot of problems as well, including the Lestranges themselves and the fact that the magical world had their ways of making sure that Muggleborns stayed in the magical world. Option number two was my first choice, but I needed a backup plan in case I failed to convince them to break up. I finally decided that I knew what I needed to do, and promptly summoned Kreacher and gave him some very specific instructions. I also got a report from Mipsy, who had some very interesting news for me.

I then walked out of my room to where Andromeda and Ted were unconscious and bound. Only to find out that they were neither unconscious or bound, and were searching for their wands that I still had in my robes. I cleared my throat loudly, causing them both to jump. They turned and looked at me fearfully.

"Andromeda, did you really think that I would leave your wands lying around where you could find them?" I asked with a smirk. Andromeda put on a brave face and glared at me.

"Let us go, Krios," Andromeda demanded.

"I will, after I make a few things clear. You two are to stop this nonsense immediately. You have no idea what kind of shitstorm that you have walked into. Your lives are not the only one at risk here. Who do you think will be forced to marry Rodolphus if you don't, Andromeda? Are you really so selfish to ask Narcissa to take your place?" I asked her furiously. Andromeda paled and opened her mouth to respond, but I was on a roll, and cut off her response.

"And for what? A man who wants you to abandon your family? Who wants you to throw away your magical gifts and live without them? You are willing to sacrifice everything, your family and magic itself, for a teenage crush born out of rebellion? You are no better than Cassiopeia if you are willing to betray our family for such madness," I ranted angrily.

"I am nothing like her!" Andromeda protested angrily.

"Difference side of the same coin. You are splitting away from our family because we aren't willing to risk the Statute to use our magic to help Muggles. Cassiopeia split because Lord Black refuses to use magic to rule them. And you are both short-sighted and foolish. Conquering them is a fool's errand, and expecting them to accept our gifts peacefully when we reveal ourselves is naive and foolish. They will either try to exploit our gifts or kill us. The main religion calls for witches to be burned after all," I retorted.

"They're not all like that," Andromeda protested.

"The ones who are in power are. Please imagine how our Ministry would react if they were told that there was an entire race of people that could bend reality to their will and take their powers away with a few words and a stick. It would end badly, just like it did when the goblins rebelled and when dark wizards attempted to seize power through force. Their goverments and wealthy elite are exactly like ours. All it would take is one wizard caught attacking a Muggle to start a war. The only reason it hasn't is because we have people in our government keeping our secrets. And they don't let Muggleborns escape the magical world without taking precautions," I replied.

"What precautions?" Ted asked in alarm.

"You really think the Ministry or the ICW is going to let people with knowledge of our world slip away and work with the Muggles? You think you're the first Muggleborn to try to use magic to make a fortune in the Muggle world? What do you think we have the ICW for? The entire purpose of that group is to protect the Statute of Secrecy. There are multiple departments in the Ministry and the ICW dedicated to protecting our secrets around the world 24/7 every day of the year. The majority of the Muggleborns who leave England because our Ministry is rather prejudiced against them end up working for the ICW or Ministries overseas. The ones that don't have to take an Unbreakable Vow not to reveal their magic to anyone not aware of our existence. The ones that don't are killed or imprisoned," I told them. Both Andromeda and Tonks looked shocked at this information.

"So we don't stand a chance, then? Is that what you are saying?" Ted asked fiercely.

"That's exactly what I am saying. Lord Black and Lord Lestrange have connections overseas. Connections that owe them favors. They will find you. Andromeda will be dragged back to England to marry Rodolphus and you will be killed in a likely painful way. Your family will likely be killed too. If you went to America by yourself, you will be allowed to live a normal life as long as you keep the magical world a secret. But Andromeda doesn't have that luxury. Believe me, I would love to let you both go somewhere away from the war that is coming for us. But it's not in the cards. The contract with the Lestranges made sure of that," I told them. A moment of shocked silence followed my statement. Andromeda broke it.

"Krios is right. I love you, Ted, but I can't abandon my family like this. And I can't lead you to your death by staying with you," Andromeda said, tears starting to run down as she took the ring off her finger. She then handed it to a speechless Ted before breaking down sobbing. I felt terrible, but I would rather her be sad then dead.

"Mipsy!" I called. My dutiful house elf that I got from the Malfoys popped into the room. She was one of the three elves that I had appointed as my personal assistants that I got from the Malfoys. The rest were maintaining the dozen or so properties that made up the Malfoy estate, excluding the destroyed Malfoy Manor that I had no intention of rebuilding.

"Yes Master Krios?" Mipsy asked.

"Take Andromeda to my cottage outside of Inverness. She's had a rough night," I told him, handing a sobbing Andromeda her wand and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. I handed Gremlin a letter to give to her once they reached the cottage hidden in the Scottish highlands that once belonged to the Malfoys. I had written it while she was unconcious, for I had to make sure she understood why I intervened. Gremlin then grabbed the hand of my sobbing cousin and disappeared with a pop, leaving me alone with a stunned Ted.

"You know, this is nothing personal. I would rather a decent person like you marry my cousin instead of someone like Rodolphus Lestrange. But there is far too much at stake to stop their betrothal even if I could. And my cousin's safety is more important to me then her happiness, because happiness is rather meaningless to the dead," I said seriously.

"Yeah, right. Me being a Muggleborn has nothing to do with it," Ted said sarcastically.

"It doesn't actually. I prefer to judge people by their character. I don't know if you noticed, but being a pureblood hasn't stopped people like the Lestrange brothers and Amos Diggory from being cunts," I said dryly.

Ted let out a snort of laughter at that. "Fair enough. But the fact that you are only doing this to protect your cousin doesn't make this any easier," Ted replied bitterly.

"I didn't expect it to, honestly. I personally keep hoping Rodolphus dies in some freak accident or gets killed during one his nightime masquerades," I said.

"I wouldn't shed a tear if that happened. You really think Rodolphus is a Death Eater?" Ted asked curiously.

"I don't think, I know that he and his father are Death Eaters, probably right up in the Inner Circle too. Problem is, no one can prove it and everyone is too afraid to accuse them. Power and money often do a lot of the talking, you know," I replied.

"I'm aware. It's one of the reasons I'm leaving. At least the corruption in the normal world isn't as widespread, especially back home in America," Ted grumbled.

I barely stopped myself from laughing at that. "_Oh buddy, just wait a couple of years. I'll have to remind him of this when Nixon is forced to resign," _I thought to myself humorously. "Right. Sure it is. Speaking of which, you should probably head back to America. I overheard Diggory bragging to his friends after he got out of the Hospital Wimg that he found out a way to get revenge on the both of us tomorrow at breakfast. I think you know what that means," I said grimly. It was actually Mipsy who overheard him, but Ted didn't need to know that. I am so glad I had him tailed in case he started plotting revenge for his humiliation on the pitch earlier.

"Amos has always been a cunt, and he never did get over me getting the prefect badge instead of him. But I never thought that he would stoop this low. Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it be a lot easier for you to let the Lestranges kill me when they find out?" Ted asked after he had taken a moment to process the information.

"Honestly? Yeah, it would. It would be so easy to have you killed and toss your body into the Forbidden Forest where no one would ever find it because it was eaten. But I'm not the type to kill innocent people just because they aren't born to a Wizarding family. Which is why I stepped in when I did. If I were you, I would take one of the secret passageways out of Hogwarts tonight. I already had one of my house elves bring your things down. I also bought you a plane ticket for a flight to Central City tomorrow morning. I would make sure you don't miss it," I told him.

Ted didn't look entirely convinced that I was doing this out of the kindness of my heart, and apparently had a bit of Gryffindor in him, as he decided to voice it. "Why are you doing this? I have heard more than once that you are the best thing to come out of Slytherin in living memory, but you were put in Slytherin for a reason. What do you get out of this?" Ted asked, eyeing me warily. I was rather impressed by that assessment, as it was entirely correct.

"I can see why you were handpicked for a job at your godfather's company at such a young age. Don't worry, it's nothing that you won't be comfortable doing. In fact, it will make us both a lot of money," I said with a grin.

I could tell Ted was hooked by the time that I had finished my sales pitch. He even signed a business contract that I had Kreacher get my account manager at Gringotts to draw up on my orders. By the time Ted had grabbed his things and made his way out of Hogwarts, I had gained a loyal man in a good position to make me a ton of money investing in the Muggle world. I then spent the next hour finishing ironing out the details of my plan to deal with Diggory's accusations that he planned on spreading in the morning. which actually called for me to make a deal that I rather wished I didn't have to make. But it was a small price to pay for my family's safety and happiness.

**AN: hope you enjoyed how Krios dealt with his cousin and Ted. He managed to keep his cousin's loyalty as well as earning a man inside the Muggle business world. Interested to see who can guess the identity of Ted's godfather, who won't be introduced for some time. And yeah, Arcturus is playing the long game by agreeing to this wedding and making a deal with the devil in order to buy time to plan his moves against Voldemort's cause and keep his familysafe while he does. Andromeda's happiness and stepping back in his dealings in the Ministry were the sacrifices that he made in order to do that. Didn't get to the funerals this chapter, but that and the reactions to the rumors about Ted and Andromeda at breakfast will be in the next chapters, as well as the reveal of the deal Krios made at the end of this chapter**. **Just because he is stopping the relationship of Ted and Andromeda doesn't mean he has any intention of letting Rodolphus have her. Thank you all for reading. Been enjoying the feedback and hope that you all continue to enjoy my story!**


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